Pakistan’s bid to defend their Champions Trophy title has suffered a major setback as opening batter Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament due to an oblique injury.
Imam, 29, who has represented Pakistan in 72 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), was named as Fakhar's replacement after the approval from ICC technical committee.
“The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 has approved Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement for Fakhar Zaman in the Pakistan squad,” the committee said in a statement.
As per the event’s regulations, the approval of the Event Technical Committee is required before a replacement player can be officially added to the squad.
"Representing Pakistan on the biggest stage is an honour and dream of every cricketer in this country. I have been privileged enough to represent Pakistan multiple times with pride. Unfortunately I'm now out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 but surely Allah is the best planner," the left-handed batter said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that Zaman will not travel with the team to Dubai for their upcoming match against India on February 23.
Fakhar Zaman was forced to leave the field just two deliveries into the match against New Zealand on Wednesday, after suffering a muscular injury while fielding.
He had chased a ball toward the boundary, stopped it, and then threw it to Babar Azam, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort. Zaman walked off the field with the physio, although he did so unaided, and later returned to the field.
Zaman came to bat in Mohammad Rizwan’s position, as he could not open the innings due to not meeting the required time spent on the field during New Zealand’s innings.
While batting, he continued to feel discomfort and was checked again by the physio. He struggled to run between the wickets and was eventually dismissed for 24 off 42 deliveries by Bracewell.
It should be noted here that Pakistan will face arch-rivals India in Dubai on Sunday, February 23.
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