Team captain Mohammad Rizwa has clarified on the exit of Pakistan from the Champions Trophy semifinals. It described the team as the main reason for the absence of two players, Sam Ayub and Fakhr Zaman. Both were released from the tournament due to injury.
Ayub was released due to ankle injury just before the start of the tournament. Meanwhile, Fakhr was injured in the first match against New Zealand.
In the first league match of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan suffered defeat against New Zealand and India in the second match. On Thursday, the last league match against Bangladesh was canceled due to rain.
We are all very disappointed – Rizwan In an interview to Rizwan to Broadcaster after the match with Bangladesh was canceled in Rawalpindi on Thursday, we are all very disappointed. We had expectations from the countrymen. We accept that we did not perform well. Hope we will work harder and comeback.
He further said that the absence of Sam Ayub and Fakhr Zaman ruined the team's balance. Both players have been doing well in Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe for the past few months. The team was balanced. Suddenly the two were injured, causing the team to face difficulties.
Ayub was injured during the Test series on a tour of South Africa Sam Ayub was injured during the Test series on a tour of South Africa before the Champions Trophy. He suffered a leg injury while stopping the ball in the second Test match. After this he began to grind with pain and then he was immediately taken out of the ground on a stretcher. While he was leaving the field, he had tears in his eyes. After first aid, it was seen running with support. He is undergoing treatment in England.
Fakhr Zaman was injured in a match against New Zealand Fakhr Zaman was injured while fielding in the opening match against New Zealand in Karachi. There was cramps in his muscles. After which he got out of the tournament. Instead, Imam ul Haqan was included in the squad.
Need to improve domestic tournament to prepare backup Rizwan said that we need to improve the domestic tournament to prepare a better backup.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).