The Pakistan cricket team has suffered a significant blow with the news that opener Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the remainder of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to an oblique injury. The injury occurred during the tournament opener against New Zealand, where Zaman had to leave the field after just two deliveries. He later returned to the field but was unable to open the innings and struggled with running between the wickets, scoring 24 off 41 balls.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Imam-ul-Haq as Zaman's replacement, with the 29-year-old having played 72 ODIs and scoring 3138 runs at an average of 48.27. Imam last played for Pakistan in 2023 and will be looking to make an impact in the tournament. The news of Zaman's injury is a big blow to Pakistan's chances, especially with their next match being against arch-rivals India on February 23. Pakistan will be looking to bounce back from their 60-run loss to New Zealand, and the absence of Zaman will make it even more challenging.

The injury to Zaman is a significant setback for Pakistan, who are already without Saim Ayub in the tournament. Concerns had also lingered over Haris Rauf's fitness, but he was able to play in the New Zealand match. The PCB had initially stated that Zaman was being monitored for a muscle sprain, but the seriousness of the injury has now been revealed. Zaman had tweeted about his injury, stating that he was grateful for the opportunity to represent Pakistan and would be backing the team from home.

Pakistan's schedule for the tournament is as follows:

• February 23: Pakistan vs India
• February 27: Pakistan vs Bangladesh

The team will be looking to win both matches to have any chance of progressing to the next stage. The absence of Zaman will be felt, but Imam-ul-Haq will be looking to make an impact and help the team bounce back from their loss to New Zealand. With the Champions Trophy being a prestigious tournament, Pakistan will be looking to put up a strong performance, despite the setback of losing Zaman.

The cricket world will be watching the upcoming matches closely, especially the clash between Pakistan and India, which is always a highly anticipated match. The absence of Zaman will add an extra layer of complexity to the match, and it will be interesting to see how Pakistan adapts to his absence. With the tournament being a competition between the best teams in the world, every match counts, and Pakistan will be looking to make a strong statement in their upcoming matches.