ICC Champions Trophy: Fakhar Zaman, hero of 2017 final, keen on encore

Remember Fakhar Zaman, Player of the Final in the India-Pakistan clash in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy? Now a senior pro at 34, the left-handed batter is looking to relive memories of The Oval when the two arch rivals clash in a group league game of the tournament — being revived after eight years — in Dubai on 23 February.

Zaman, who made his ODI debut in that edition, smashed a blazing 114 off 106 deliveries to set Pakistan on its way to a mammoth 338 for four. Mohammed Amir then rattled the Indian top order as the green shirts turned the tables on a fancied India by 180 runs to win their last major ICC title.

Looking back at that magical final, Zaman told the ICC website that fate had perhaps ordained his stardom that day, as he had all but decided to give the match a miss.

“I was not well the day before the game. I even talked to coach Mickey (Arthur) and said I won’t be able to play. He said you go out there and get a duck first ball, it doesn’t matter but you have to play that game. I managed to play but I remember that I didn’t sleep well that night and he forced me to play. I’m pleased he did!”

Incidentally, it was his first-ever India-Pakistan game as Zaman was in the dugout for the league match which Virat Kohli & Co. won by a very comfortable 124 runs. Sarfaraz Ahmed, the then captain, handed him the debut cap in the next game against South Africa in which he scored 31, but it remains one of his favourite innings as they won a close game to stay alive in the competition.

In the final, there was a fair share of drama when Zaman was caught off Jasprit Bumrah when on three, only for it to be declared a no-ball. “I got out to a no-ball. Kumar Dharmasena was the third umpire and I was going out. From the boundary, he said wait there. I was halfway back and when I saw that, I was 100 per cent sure it was a no-ball. After that, I thought maybe it’s my day.”

The heroes’ welcome which the Pakistan team received on returning home was an unforgettable experience, and Zaman became an overnight hero for having played such a major role in shutting out India in the final.

“It was special back in Pakistan,” he recalled. “I didn’t expect anything like that and I have never seen anything like that in my whole life. People were waiting for us. I was alone on the Peshawar flight as most of the guys were flying to Lahore or Karachi. There were thousands of people waiting at the airport. It took three to four hours to get out of the airport.

“Then there were people waiting on the streets and on the roads. When I got to my hometown, the whole street was full of people. In our villages, we have guest houses, and the whole guest house was full of people.

“For many weeks, people from 500 km or more away would come to take a picture. It was unbelievable and it was something special. The way we made people feel at that time, I wish I could do more things like that,” said Zaman, who has 3,576 runs from 83 ODIs at an average of 47.

The expectations will be sky-high from the home team since the last time Pakistan played host to a major ICC tournament was the 1996 ICC World Cup, even though a hybrid model means India will be playing all its games in Dubai.

"There are too many memories. The best memory for me was the way the team gelled to become friends... with Shadab, Faheem (Ashraf), Hasan Ali, we became really close,” said Zaman. It’s time for him to create some new ones in the upcoming edition!