In a major blow to the Pakistan national cricket team, Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the current Champions Trophy 2025 due to an injury sustained on Wednesday while fielding in the Group A match against New Zealand in Karachi.
Fakhar Zaman had fallen awkwardly in the field during the first over of the match against New Zealand. He was forced to leave the field and tried to return to the match but could not manage.
“They are assessing him and examining for a muscular sprain, and further updates will be issued in due time,” the PCB said much later in the match.
The 34-year-old eventually batted at No.4, looking out of touch and scoring only 24 off 41 balls.
Pakistan’s A Sports now reports that Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament and will not be travelling with the Pakistan team to Dubai for the match against India on 23 February.
It went on to say that ICC will be making an official announcement regarding Fakhar Zaman’s injury and subsequent replacement soon.
The Pakistan cricket team has suffered a huge setback in the tournament, as it lost to New Zealand by 60 runs without an opener, already pushed back in the squad.
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad:
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
