Pakistan cricket team suffered a setback early during their opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy. Opener Fakhar Zaman was forced to stay off the field after picking up an injury in the very second ball of the match. Arguably one of their best top-order batters, Zaman’s services were greatly missed as Saud Shakeel failed to fill in his shoes. Pakistan will next take on arch-rivals India on February 23.
Will Fakhar Zaman play in IND vs PAK clash?
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan provided an update on Zaman’s status as he spoke in the post-match presentation. Rizwan said that they weren’t sure if Fakhar could play the next game, revealing that the results of the scan was yet to come in. He added that Fakhar was indeed in some pain.
“Not sure yet, he hasn’t got his result yet. He is in some pain,” Rizwan said.
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Fakhar Zaman injured?
Pakistan, who won the toss, opted to bat second at the National Stadium in Karachi. On the very second ball bowled by Shaheen Afridi, Will Young stroked one through the off-side. Fakhar Zaman, who was standing at mid-off, sprinted towards the boundary line and made a great effort to stop it from touching the ropes. Unfortunately, his knees got stuck on the outfield, and Zaman endured massive discomfort.
The Pakistani physio quickly came to Zaman, who went off the field following the incident. Kamran Ghulam, who isn’t in the playing XI, came in as a fielding replacement for the southpaw. As for New Zealand, they have had a great start to the innings. Devon Conway and Will Young were untroubled against the likes of Shaheen and Naseem Shah.
“Fakhar Zaman is being assessed and examined for a muscular sprain and further updates will be provided in due course,” the PCB said in a statement.
