Imam replaces Fakhar in Pakistan's CT squad

Pakistan's Champions Trophy 2025 campaign has suffered a significant setback as opener Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

In his place, Imam-ul-Haq has been drafted into the squad for the remainder of the matches.

Fakhar sustained the injury while fielding during Pakistan's match against New Zealand in Karachi.

Zaman suffered a muscular injury while chasing a ball towards the boundary. He cut it off before palming it over to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort and walked off the field.

He walked backed to dug out with the physio, though unaided. He eventually returned to the field later in the game.

The southpaw came out to bat at Mohammad Rizwan's position, as he was not eligible to open for Pakistan for not spending required time on the field during New Zealand innings.

During his batting, he again felt discomfort and was checked by a physio. He was not able to run between the wicket properly.

Eventually, he was bowled by Bracewell after scoring 24 off 42 deliveries.

The left-handed batter took to his social media handles to announce his departure from the rest of the tournament.

"Representing Pakistan on the biggest stage is an honour and dream of every cricketer in this country," he wrote on Instagram.

"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. Grateful for the opportunity. I will be backing our boys in green from home. This is only just the beginning, the comeback will be stronger than the setback. Pakistan Zindabad."

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 has approved Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement for Fakhar Zaman in Pakistan's squad.

A player's replacement requires approval from the Event Technical Committee before being officially added to the squad.

Imam was already part of the Pakistan Shaheens squad and recently impressed in a warm-up match against South Africa, scoring 98 runs.

Meanwhile, in the tournament opener, defending champions Pakistan suffered a 60-run defeat against New Zealand.

Pakistan will now face arch-rivals India in their next fixture, a must-win encounter to keep their title defense hopes alive.

Pakistan's updated squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.