Fakhar Zaman ruled out of Champions Trophy 2025

Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistan opening batter, has been ruled out of the remainder of the Champions Trophy 2025 after sustaining a oblique injury during the tournament opener against New Zealand. Pakistan have named Imam-ul-Haq as his replacement.

Zaman had to leave the field only two deliveries into the match against New Zealand after injuring himself while fielding. After opener Will Young played a Shaheen Afridi delivery through covers, Zaman pursued the ball and managed to stop it from crossing the boundary but got injured in the process.

Zaman later returned to the field during the latter stages of the first innings but couldn't open the innings later considering the lengthy time off the field. Even when he came out to bat at No.4, he struggled with running between the wickets. He scored 24 off 41 in a 47-run stand off 65 deliveries with Babar Azam, with the latter also struggling to up the ante.

Pakistan, who were chasing a target of 320, fell short as they went down by 60 runs in the opener. The defending CT champions play their next match, against arch-rivals India, on February 23 followed by their final Group A game against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.

Meanwhile, 29-year-old Imam hasn't played for Pakistan since 2023 and last played the ODI format at the World Cup that year. In all, he has played 72 ODIs and scored 3138 runs at 48.27.