EXPLAINED: Why Is Fakhar Zaman Not Playing In India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Match In Dubai
Rohit Sharma-led India are facing arch-rivals Pakistan in the 5th match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bat against India in the high-octane clash between two arch-rivals. Imam-ul-Haq replaced Fakhar Zaman in the Pakistan Playing XI for the important clash.
“Will bat first, looks like a good surface. Want to put up a good target. Every match is important in ICC events, we will keep things normal. The boys are familiar with these conditions, we have done well here and we want to do our best today. We lost our last game, but it is past for us now. One change – Fakhar is out, Imam is in,” said Rizwan at the toss.
On this other hand, India, who won their opening match against Bangladesh, are unchanged for this match.
“Doesn’t really matter, they won the toss so we’ll bowl first. Looks similar to the last game, the surface is on the slower side. We have an experienced unit in batting so we know what we need to do if the pitches get slower. Need an overall performance from the team – with bat and ball,” said India skipper Rohit Sharma.
“The last game wasn’t an easy one for us, which is always nice. You want to be under pressure and test yourself. We are playing the same team,” he added.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is not playing their Champions Trophy 2025 match against India in Dubai as he has been ruled out of the tournament due to an oblique tear.
Notably, Fakhar hurt himself while fielding in the opening over of Pakistan’s clash against New Zealand in Karachi and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament.
Imam-ul-Haq, who replaced Fakhar in the Pakistan squad, couldn’t score much against Pakistan in Dubai. Imam scored 10 off 26 before getting run out in the 10th over of the Pakistan innings.
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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