Pakistan have named their squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour, with Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub not finding a place due to their respective injuries.
Pakistan have made wholesale changes to their squad for the series that begins on March 16. They have replaced Mohammad Rizwan as T20I skipper after he led in just four games, with Salman Agha taking over the role.
Following their disastrous run in the Champions Trophy, where they failed to win a single game, several drastic measures have been taken, including dropping Babar Azam and Rizwan from the T20I set-up. Naseem Shah fails to find a place in the squad for the shortest format too, which will have Shadab Khan, on comeback, as the deputy.
Shaheen Afridi has been dropped from the ODI team despite picking up 15 wickets across the tours to Australia and South Africa late last year.
What is the injury update on Fakhar Zaman?
Zaman, who was recalled to the ODI team for the Champions Trophy, injured himself in the first over of Pakistan’s first game of the tournament, against New Zealand. He walked out to bat later in the game but was clearly in trouble, turning down easy singles as the pressure on the hosts mounted.
Zaman was eventually ruled out of the tournament, with the PCB providing an update on his fitness. “Openers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not considered for either format on medical advice. Fakhar suffered a left lower intercostal muscle sprain during Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand.”
Saim Ayub recovering from his ankle fracture
Ayub, who has had a fine start to his ODI career, making 515 runs in nine games at an average of 64.37 with three hundreds and a fifty, suffered an ankle injury during the second South Africa Test. He had to be stretchered off the pitch in the seventh over of the game after he went chasing an edge by Ryan Rickleton to deep third. He ended up losing his balance and twisted his ankle, going down in visible pain.
He was not considered for the Champions Trophy, after the PCB stated that he needed “up to six weeks” for recovery. Ayub travelled to London to get his fracture treated.
In their update, the PCB wrote: “Saim is recovering from a right ankle fracture sustained on the first day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa in January.
“Both [Zaman and Ayub] are expected to be fully fit for the HBL Pakistan Super League 10, starting in Rawalpindi on 11 April 2025.”
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