Pakistan opening batter Fakhar Zaman had to walk off the field with an injury on the second ball of the 2025 Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in the opening encounter of the 2025 Champions Trophy against New Zealand at the National Stadium Karachi. Shaheen Afridi took the new ball, as he usually does.
Opener Rachin Ravindra was not fit to play for New Zealand, forcing them to go with Will Young instead, who took first strike as Devon Conway began at the non-striker's end. After defending the first ball, Young drove a full and wide delivery from Shaheen through the vacant cover region.
Zaman, who was standing at mid-off, gave chase and slid to prevent the ball from going to the boundary, but did some damage to himself in the process. He got up gingerly and parried the ball to his teammate who chased with him, before signalling that he wanted to get off the field.
Also read: Power Rankings: Where is each side at ahead of the Champions Trophy?
Zaman then hobbled and sat down beyond the boundary as the Pakistan physio attended to him. The left-handed batter was seen clutching his waist and his foot as he looked distraught. Ramiz Raja on air suggested it could be a knee injury, something that has troubled him before, but there's no confirmation yet on the nature of his injury.
Fakhar Zaman injury status: When will the Pakistan opener be back?
Fortunately for Pakistan fans, Zaman was seen walking relatively comfortably outside the boundary line. Kamran Ghulam took his place in the field as a substitute.
Pakistan would be desperately hoping for it not to be a serious injury. They have already lost Saim Ayub, their first-choice opener, and Abdullah Shafique has fallen out of favour due to poor form, forcing them to open with Zaman and Babar Azam instead. Another injury to an opener will stretch their reserves and can derail their campaign as soon as it starts.
Further updates on Zaman's injury will be added when available.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
