WATCH: Fakhar Zaman walks off the field with injury in PAK vs NZ Champions Trophy 2025 opener

Pakistan cricket team were dealt an early blow when opener Fakhar Zaman hobbled off the field injured. The incident happened in the very second ball of the game. Shaheen Afridi bowled a full ball outside the off-stump and Will Young drove the ball through the covers. 

Fakhar Zaman gave chase to the ball and slid in a bid to stop the boundary and immediately felt discomfort. The left-handed batter had a grimace on his face as he signalled for a substitute fielder to take his place. Kamran Ghulam came out to replace the veteran opener who walked off the field with the physio. 

Watch the video here:

Fakhar Zaman to phli ball pe langda ho gya 😭#ChampionsTrophy#PakVsNzpic.twitter.com/8ZamBQDiGX

— Vishal Singh (@VishalSing00) February 19, 2025

It is to be noted that Pakistan are already without their young opening sensation, Saim Ayub. The young batter had injured his leg during the Test match against South Africa in January. Pakistani players and fans were seen having worried faces when they saw Zaman left the field in pain. 

Pakistan opt to bowl first in opening game of Champions Trophy

The wait for Pakistani fans was over as they finally got to host an ICC event after 1996. There was a huge cheer when Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and chose to bowl first. Both sides had played each other in the same venue a few days ago in the Tri-series finals which New Zealand went on to win by five wickets. 

Speaking at the toss Mohammad Rizwan said “We will bowl first. Seen the last couple of matches dew comes in later, so want to maximise on that. We are the defending champions so will be under a bit more pressure, but we will treat it like the previous tri-series. Playing in Pakistan will be great as well”

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said “The dew gets on later, but we have a job to do with the bat. Looks like a good wicket. We have a good mix of experience and new faces and are playing some good cricket as well. We have been lucky to play these guys home and away, so we know each other well. What's most important is getting used to the conditions here in Karachi”

Pakistan XI - Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (C and WK), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

New Zealand XI - Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C) , Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, William O Rourke