Islamabad, Feb 21: The International Cricket Council (ICC)’s technical committee has approved Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement for the injured Fakhar Zaman in Pakistan’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Fakhar was ruled out of the tournament due to an oblique injury he suffered while fielding against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.Imam last played an ODI for Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup against South Africa. After a poor tournament, he remained out of favor for almost two years before piling up runs in domestic cricket to get back in contention.
“The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 has approved Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement for Fakhar Zaman in the Pakistan squad. Twenty-nine-year-old Imam, who has played 72 ODIs, was named as a replacement after Fakhar was ruled out due to an oblique injury,” an ICC press release said.
“The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 consists of Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket), Sarah Edgar (ICC Senior Manager – Events), Usman Wahla (PCB Director – International Cricket Operations), Shaun Pollock (Independent Representative),” it added.
Earlier, Fakhar had confirmed his ruling out and said he was looking forward to a ‘stronger’ comeback.