T20 World Cup 2022: Fakhar Zaman ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury

The 32-year-old Pakistan top-order batter Fakhar Zaman has not only been ruled out of their clash against South Africa to be played on November 3 but also of the tournament. Earlier, it was predicted that he might play a role after the South Africa clash but he has now been officially ruled out of the remainder of the competition.

PCB’s medical chief and Pakistan’s team doctor, Najeeb Soomro has informed the media in Sydney about the risk of including Fakhar in the squad. Talking to the press, Najeeb informed that there’s no new injury at the moment but the player is yet to recover completely from the knee injury he suffered during the Asia Cup.

“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,” Dr Najeeb said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“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%,” he added.

Sometimes the risks pay off, sometimes they don’t: PCB Team Doctor

With Fakhar Zaman being out of action for quite some time, the question of including him in the first place is now being asked. Dr Najeeb Soomro revealed that the team management was aware of the risk but they took chances with the hope of it paying off.

“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,” the doctor said.

Click here to know the T20 World Cup Points Table and T20 World Cup Schedule updates