T20 World Cup 2022: Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman ruled out of vital clash against South Africa

Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of his side's upcoming T20 World Cup game against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday, November 3. His participation in the remainder of the tournament also remains in doubt.

Zaman, who was originally on the reserve list, was included in the main squad just before the start of the tournament. He featured against the Netherlands but is likely to have aggravated his knee injury in the process.

Pakistan team doctor and Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief medical officer Najeeb Soomro confirmed that Zaman will miss the game against the Proteas. Addressing reporters in Sydney, he said:

“We know that Fakhar had a knee injury in Asia Cup about 7 weeks ago, he has been incredibly brave, resilient and has worked really hard to come back into the team, he had extensive rehabilitation and after which he made his way back into the team."

He added:

“Obviously with any knee injury, it takes time for it to recover 100%. Fakhar and the team understood the risks coming into the tournament and we got him into the tournament. You saw how he performed in the last match.

"Unfortunately, he had a bit of twist which aggravated his injury. We have had scans on him which have shown no new injury. However, he doesn’t feel 100 percent."

Zaman scored 20 off 16 deliveries during Pakistan's six-wicket win against the Netherlands on Sunday, October 30.

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"We knew the risks for his return" - PCB's team doctor on Fakhar Zaman

When asked if Zaman was rushed into the side for the showpiece T20 event, Soomro stated that the batter worked hard and cleared all tests before joining the squad. He added:

“We knew the risks for his return. Obviously, he is an important player for the team, the medical staff, the player and team management were aware of that and we decided to bring him back, in any sport you take risks, sometimes the risks pay off, sometimes they don’t.

"He was extremely brave and we worked hard to bring him back in, it is unfortunate that sometimes you have a bit of a reaction to something."

Pakistan are on the verge of bowing out of the ICC T20 World Cup after losing against India and Zimbabwe. Babar Azam and Co. currently have two points from three games and are placed above the Netherlands, who are at the bottom of the standings.

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