Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday said that Pakistan should give Fakhar Zaman a chance in the middle order in order to take on England spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson when the two sides meet in a crucial Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup in Pallekele.
“If Pakistan are serious about this World Cup campaign, they need to think about giving Fakhar Zaman a go in the middle order. He can sweep and use his feet against Rashid and Dawson to inflict some serious damage through the middle overs. This was Nepals success formulae against Rashid and there are some key learning’s that the other teams can try to imbibe. Access the square boundaries to earn balls in the step hit zone,” Ashwin said.
Zaman, who has a reputation of being a big hitter, is yet to play for Pakistan in this edition of the T20 World Cup.
If Pakistan are serious about this World Cup campaign, they need to think about giving Fakhar Zaman a go in the middle order.
He can sweep and use his feet against Rashid and Dawson to inflict some serious damage through the middle overs.
This was Nepals success formulae… pic.twitter.com/QMAhQm2GZR
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 24, 2026
In the last match which Pakistan played in this competition, they shared points with New Zealand after incessant rain forced the abandonment of the opening T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eights match on Saturday. Amid a slight drizzle, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
But the steady droplets soon transformed into relentless pouring, forcing the officials to call off the match without a ball being bowled. Before the skies opened up, Pakistan made one change to their eleven, bringing in Fakhar Zaman in place of Khawaja Nafay.
New Zealand made three changes with skipper Mitchell Santner back after missing the last match against Canada due to a stomach issue and Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi also found a place in the XI.
But all those calculations and combinations will have to wait for another day, as Pakistan will now face England here on February 24.
New Zealand will make a light travel to Colombo to face home side Sri Lanka on February 25.
The washout has also placed both the Kiwis and Pakistan in a relatively tighter place ahead of their remaining two Super Eights matches.
A similar result in any of the following matches, a possibility considering Sri Lanka’s weather pattern, or a defeat can put their semifinal ambitions in serious jeopardy.
