In what could be a massive blow to Pakistan’s Champions Trophy title defence, Fakhar Zaman on Thursday was reportedly ruled out of the tournament after sustaining an injury. Zaman sustained the injury on Wednesday while fielding in the opening match of the tournament against New Zealand in Karachi.
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Pakistan’s ‘A Sports’ has reported that Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament. The batter will not be travelling with the Pakistan cricket team to Dubai for the match against India on February 23.
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New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He managed to cut it off before palming the ball to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back or side. Zaman signalled that he needed to be replaced, and went off the field with the physio, though he walked unaided back to the dressing room.
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He later tried to return to the field but went off again.
In a statement about the injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said: “Fakhar Zaman is being assessed and examined for a muscular sprain, and further updates will be provided in due course.”
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The 34-year-old eventually came out to bat at No.4 but struggled with rhythm and scored just 24 off 41 balls with the home team losing by a massive 60 runs
The report added that ICC will soon make an official announcement about the injury and a replacement.
