Former Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez slammed the Mohammad Rizwan-led side's decision to send injured opener Fakhar Zaman to bat at number four during their opener clash against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. Fakhar who was supposed to feature as an opener got injured during the second ball of the mega event.
The Pakistan star batter got injured when he tried to stop a boundary during Shaheen Shah Afridi's over. Zaman walked off the field due to a muscular sprain in his left ribcage. he returned to bat in New Zealand's innings but as per the rules he was not allowed to bat until 20 minutes of the Pakistan innings. The batter scored a breezy 24 before being dismissed by Michael Bracewell.
You give the Champions Trophy to the guy, who sent Fakhar to Bat at No 4,” said Hafeez on PTC sports.
“Fakhar can’t run. It was a long match. He can’t hit every ball out of the park. Fakhar was not able to score the runs because of running between the wickets.
It added extra pressure on Babar Azam. His game is not to take the momentum away. He got that help from Salman Ali Agha.
“We shouldn’t have sent Fakhar to bat. We risked it.
“Now Fakhar might get ruled out of the tournament. Now he won’t be able to play in the tournament. He was playing with pain. Tomorrow Pakistan will travel to Dubai in then two days later they will play the biggest game of the tournament.
“It will be a miracle if Fakhar gets fit before the match against India.”
Fakhar Zaman has now been ruled out of India vs Pakistan clash which will take place on February 23 at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. The opening batter will not travel to Dubai alongside Pakistan. There are threat looms over his participation in the remainder of the tournament.