I hope to rediscover my touch on England tour: Fakhar Zaman.

Byline: Khalid H. Khan

KARACHI -- After a dramatic slump with the bat during the 2019 international cricket season, dashing opener Fakhar Zaman expressed hope on Tuesday that he'll rediscover his touch during Pakistan's tour of England under the guidance of his mentor Younis Khan.

The 30-year-old left-handed batsman from Mardan had a golden year in 2018 during which he became the first Pakistani to score a One-day International (ODI) double century - an unbeaten 210 off only 156 balls against Zimbabwe at the Queen's Sports Club in Bulawayo - while also becoming the fastest from any country to reach 1,000 ODI runs in just 18 innings.

Fakhar, who scored a fortuitous 117 against India during the ICC Champions Trophy final which Pakistan handsomely won by 180 runs in June 2017, had a lean time during the 2019 ICC World Cup where he mustered just 186 runs from eight matches at 23.25. While his overall performance during 2019 in the 50-over format wherehe accumulated 683 runs in 20 innings at 34.15 with one century (138 versus England) was satisfactory, Fakhar went through a horrendous year in the Twenty20 International format, scoring only 50 runs in eight innings at an average of just 6.25 with a highest of 17. His last five innings made a depressing reading - 7, 6, 0, 0 and 2 - before he was dumped from the team.

'Looking ahead to my mentor Younis Khan's guidance'

'I have no hesitation in saying my performances in 2019 were something I want to forget, especially in T20 cricket. I felt completely down and gutted considering the unforgettable time I had enjoyed the year before [2018] when everything clicked for me,' Fakhar said while talking to reporters during a teleconference.

'I think it's a blessing in disguise that Younis would be accompanying the team for the England tour. He's someone I always look up as a calming influence and have played cricket at the domestic level with. I will take maximum advantage of his presence in the squad because there's no better example than Younis who knows inside out what is required to make a comeback.'

Summing up what had gone on in the past year or so, the slump [in form] was a real kick in the back and if people say that I had become overconfident, I'll admit that it was the case. Getting overconfident and not improving my overall game were surely the biggest mistakes I committed,' said the left-hander.'

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