Pakistan's Fakhar goes from village pariah to 'lord'

Mardan : Fakhar Zaman was once banned from playing cricket in his village and beaten by his brothers because he was simply too good -- but he has returned a hero after his starring role in Pakistan's Champions Trophy win.

His eyes bright, the tall 27-year-old posed for selfies and was garlanded with flowers as he was welcomed back to his home in Katlang in northwestern Pakistan.

Fakhar said he was still taking it all in after he top-scored with 106 off 114 balls to lead Pakistan to a shock victory over arch-rivals India in the final, after making his ODI debut earlier in the tournament.

"I did not feel much at that time," Fakhar told AFP, referring to Sunday's final in London.

"Then I came here, and people started coming here... They all are giving me love, so now I feel that I have done some great heroics."

Bottom-ranked Pakistan produced a breathtaking display in the climax of a tournament featuring the world's top eight one-day international nations.

They piled up 338 for four, bolstered by left-handed opener Fakhar's maiden hundred, in what was just his fourth one-day international.

His efforts set social media alight during the match, with laudatory articles and memes quickly going viral.

But, Fakhar said, it was not always so: in fact his village once refused to allow him to take part in local cricket games.

"I played one or two hard-ball matches in school and scored some runs. I then became popular in the whole region and people used to say wherever I went that, 'He is a hard-ball player, don't play with him,'" he said.

His brothers even used to beat him up to stop him from playing, elder sibling Asif told AFP sheepishly.

"But he never quit cricket, and has become a hero today," Asif added, joking: "He has become a lord for us".