Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to an injury sustained during Pakistan’s opening match against New Zealand.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday confirmed that Zaman will not be travelling with the team to Dubai for their crucial match against India on February 23.
“Fakhar Zaman’s injury is of a serious nature. He will not be able to play the remainder of the tournament,” the PCB said.
The left-handed batter sustained a muscular sprain during the opening over as he chased a ball to the boundary.
He appeared to be in discomfort after collecting the ball and left the field for treatment and was off the field for a significant amount of time.
Zaman returned to bat at No. 4, scoring 24 off 41 balls, but was visibly struggling and in pain.
Following the setback, Imam-ul-Haq has been approved by the ICC as Fakhar’s replacement. The PCB had approached the ICC Technical Committee to approve a replacement, with Imam-ul-Haq emerging as a leading candidate.
The ICC Event Technical Committee has approved the inclusion of Imam-ul-Haq in the squad as a replacement for Zaman. The committee comprises Wasim Khan, Usman Wahla, Sarah Edgar, and Shaun Pollock.
Imam-ul-Haq was part of Pakistan Shaheens and scored 98 runs against South Africa in a warm-up match.
Pakistan lost their opening match against New Zealand by 60 runs on Feb 19.
Fakhar’s injury and unavailability is a significant setback for Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign.
His absence required a reshuffling of the batting order, with Saud Shakeel opening the innings in the first match.
The post Fakhar Zaman Ruled Out of Champions Trophy Due to Injury; Imam-ul-Haq Named Replacement appeared first on Oyeyeah.
