Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman rubbished rumours of his retirement after being ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to a side strain he suffered in the opening match against New Zealand in Karachi.
The left-hander, who had played a crucial role in the 2017 final against India with a 114, felt that having started training against doctor’s advice might’ve contributed to his injury.
“Coming into this year’s Champions Trophy, I had so many plans. I had started training 10-15 days before the time my doctor had advised me. But I have no regrets. When the team expects something from me, I have to make decisions like these,” Fakhar told Pakistan Cricket Board’s Twitter channel.
Fakhar fell awkwardly while trying to stop a ball near the boundary and was immediately taken off the field. He returned to bat as the hosts were chasing 321 and managed just 24 runs. During his short stay of 41 balls, Fakhar was seen wincing his pain on multiple occasions and was later ruled out of the tournament. Imam-Ul-Haq replaced him in the squad.
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“Even my son was asking me if I was in pain (while batting against New Zealand), but these are part of the game. I had previously played with a fracture but here it was too much. After the match I knew that my Champions Trophy was over,” the 34-year-old said.
Without Fakhar, Pakistan were woefully out of depth against India as the opening pair of Imam and Babar Azam managed to put up just 41 runs. Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 100 as India beat their rivals by six wickets, which more or less knocked out the defending champions with one more group game remaining. Speaking about the match and his absence, Fakhar said,
“I can brag about all kinds of things, but the match is already over and we lost. So, there’s nothing I want to add to it. That’s how cricket is.”
The defeat also kicked up multiple reports of him retiring from international cricket, but Fakhar waved off the rumours saying he will be back to training within a month.
“Media can report whatever they want, but there are no plans (to retire). And definitely not from ODIs, because it’s my favorite format. I thought of taking some time off because of my thyroid issue, but I only want to keep playing all three formats,” Fakhar said.
“I feel completely good after one week. The doctor has advised me to begin training after three weeks. I will be back to normal in one month,” he added.
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