Thu Feb 20 08:27:43 UTC 2025: ## Pakistan’s Zaman Out of Champions Trophy After Injury, Replaced by Imam-ul-Haq

**Karachi, Pakistan –** Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign suffered a major blow on February 19th with the injury-related withdrawal of opener Fakhar Zaman. Zaman, who left the field just two balls into the opening match against New Zealand after suffering a lower back injury, has been ruled out of the tournament.

The setback occurred during fielding, with Zaman requiring a substitution despite walking off the field unaided. He briefly returned to bat in the ninth over but struggled, scoring a slow 24 off 41 balls before being dismissed. Captain Mohammad Rizwan cited Zaman’s absence as a significant factor in Pakistan’s loss, highlighting the disruption to both the powerplay and death overs.

Imam-ul-Haq will replace Zaman for the remainder of the tournament. However, the selection has sparked some controversy, with Pakistani news outlet Aaj.TV questioning the necessity of a fitness test for Imam given his recent presence in the national squad. This follows previous reports by Cricket Pakistan alleging that Imam was previously dropped from the team due to an internal report by former team director Mohammad Hafeez, which accused the player of leaking confidential team information.

Pakistan ultimately lost the match to New Zealand by 60 runs, chasing 321 and being bowled out for 260. This marks Pakistan’s fourth consecutive Champions Trophy defeat to New Zealand and leaves them at the bottom of Group A, while New Zealand takes the early lead. India and Bangladesh are set to begin their campaigns on February 20th.

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