Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the remainder of the Champions Trophy 2025 after being hit on the oblique during the first game of the tournament against New Zealand. Pakistan have replaced him with Imam-ul-Haq.
Zaman was compelled to retire from the game just two deliveries into the match against New Zealand after he hurt himself while fielding. After opener Will Young drove through covers off a Shaheen Afridi delivery, Zaman ran behind the ball and managed to cut it off beating the boundary but hurt himself in the process.
Zaman returned to the game towards the end of the first innings in the second half but could not open the innings later due to the time lost out of action from the game. Even when he batted at No.4, he could not run between the wickets. Zaman contributed 24 off 41 in a 47-run partnership off 65 balls with Babar Azam, with the latter also being slow.
Pakistan, in a bid of 320, were defeated as they lost by 60 runs in the first game. Title-defending CT champions play their second match against arch-rivals India on February 23 and then their last Group A game against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.
Meanwhile, Imam, 29, has not played for Pakistan after 2023 and has not played the ODI format since the 2023 World Cup. He has played 72 ODIs and has scored 3138 runs at 48.27.
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