Opener Fakhar Zaman will not be travelling with the Pakistan side to Dubai for the Pakistan-India match in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday.
The development comes as Zaman was injured while fielding early into Pakistan’s opener against New Zealand yesterday at Karachi’s National Stadium.
“Fakhar Zaman is not travelling with the side to Dubai. The ICC will make further announcements in due course,” the board said.
Pakistan’s next match will be a high-stakes clash against India on Sunday in Dubai after India refused to travel to Pakistan to play their matches.
To accommodate India in the eight-nation tournament, a two-way hybrid model was adopted by the ICC with consent of the PCB and Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to hold all the Champions Trophy matches involving India in Dubai.
Pakistan failed to chase the 321 target set by New Zealand in Wednesday’s opener, with the Green Shirts ending their rollercoaster innings with 260 all out.
Zaman, the only conventional opener on the Pakistan side, did not open with both part-time opening options — Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam, who started off the innings for the Green Team.
The stage was set for Pakistan in Karachi with an electric atmosphere in the stands at the sold-out National Bank Stadium as it hosted its first ICC tournament since 1996.
Pakistan played a mammoth 152 dot-balls in their innings, with their lack of strike rotation coming back to haunt them at the end.
More to follow
