Pakistan faced a major blow ahead of the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against arch-rivals India as opening batter Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury, sources confirmed on Thursday.
Fakhar, who sustained an injury during Pakistan’s group-stage clash against New Zealand in Karachi, will not be traveling with the team to Dubai for the match against India. The ICC is expected to make an official announcement regarding his replacement soon.
The injury occurred in the very first over of New Zealand’s innings when Fakhar fell awkwardly while fielding, forcing him to leave the ground for medical assessment.
Though he attempted to return to the field after some time, he eventually walked off again, raising serious concerns about his fitness.
Later, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement saying, “Fakhar Zaman is being assessed and examined for a muscular sprain, and further updates will be provided in due course.”
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Despite the discomfort, Fakhar still came out to bat in Pakistan’s chase of 321 runs. However, he looked far from his usual fluent self, managing a scratchy 24 before getting dismissed.
With no other specialist opener in the squad apart from Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan now faces a major selection headache ahead of the crucial Champions Trophy match against India.
The defending champions and hosts Pakistan began their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a 60-run loss against New Zealand yesterday.
They will now travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the much-awaited clash against arch-rivals India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23. Pakistan will then return home to face Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.
Pakistan squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
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.
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