Fakhar Zaman did not come out to bat during Pakistan's Champions Trophy opener due to a bizarre ICC rule.
Saud Shakeel, and not Fakhar Zaman, walked out to open along with Babar Azam for Pakistan in their Champions Trophy 2025 run-chase against New Zealand on Wednesday.
Fakhar Zaman sustained an injury during the very early stages of the 2025 Champions Trophy opener in Karachi on Wednesday. In the second ball of New Zealand’s innings, Fakhar chased down the ball as it raced towards the boundary.
While he succeeded in preventing the boundary, Babar sat on the ground while holding his knee. He left the field in the aftermath of the injury, but a few overs later, Fakhar returned to the field to ease the hosts’ concerns.
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However, even if the 35-year-old is fit to bat, he would still not be able to open. Why? Because ICC rules stipulate that for a player to bat or bowl, the player in question has to be on the field for the same duration as to the time he was off the field.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Fakhar would be available to open if the Men in Green were on the field till 6.56 pm local time (7.26 pm IST). However, that wasn’t the case as New Zealand ended their innings at 6.07 pm local time (6.37 pm IST). This meant that Fakhar couldn’t bat for the first 25 minutes after Pakistan began their chase.
New Zealand rode on centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham to post a total of 320/5 after they were asked to bat. At the time of writing this report, Pakistan were 14/1 in 5.3 overs, with the hosts having lost Saud Shakeel.
Regarding a player being absent from the field, the ICC rules state the following:
If a fielder fails to take the field with his side at the start of the match or at any later time, or leaves the field during a session of play,
(a) the umpire shall be informed of the reason for his absence.
(b) he shall not thereafter come on to the field during a session of play without the consent of the umpire. See 6 below. The umpire shall give such consent as soon as is practicable.
New Zealand rode on centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham to post a total of 320/5 after they were asked to bat. At the time of writing this report, Pakistan were 14/1 in 5.3 overs, with the hosts having lost Saud Shakeel. Fakhar Zaman was yet to come out to bat.
