‌CT 2025 | Imam-ul-Haq to replace injured Fakhar Zaman in Pakistan squad

Fakhar, who returned to the Pakistan national team for the Champions Trophy will no longer play a part in the tournament. The left-handed batter could last only two minutes in the field before injuring himself while chasing the ball on a Shaheen Afridi delivery. Although he returned to the field later, Zaman couldn’t continue for a prolonged period. 

This is the reason why he couldn’t open the batting for Pakistan yesterday. As a result, he came out to bat second down and scored 41-ball 24. He was unable to rotate the strike and relied on defense and boundaries during his stay. Following medical assessment, Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament with Imam coming in as a replacement.

After Saim Ayub, this is the second blow that the co-hosts incurred for the mega-event. Batting in 71 innings, Imam averages 48.27 after scoring 3138 runs in ODIs. He last played an ODI against South Africa, during the 2023 World Cup where Pakistan failed to qualify for the knockout stages. 

From ICC event’s standpoint, they initiated the tournament on a pessimistic tone after suffering a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in their first game. Their next assignment is against India on March 23 at the Dubai International Stadium.