Fakhar Zaman terms retirement reports ‘baseless’

Reacting to “baseless reports” on his retirement plan, Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman issued a clarification saying, “he will join the team soon”.

Fakhar, who made his long-awaited return to the national team in the recently-held home tri-nation ODI series against New Zealand and South Africa, suffered another injury setback and was consequently ruled out of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.

Fakhar sustained the injury while fielding during Pakistan’s match against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19 as he fell awkwardly in the opening over of the game and had to leave the field for medical evaluation.

Although he made a brief return, he soon exited again, raising concerns about his fitness. Subsequent scans confirmed an oblique tear, leading to his withdrawal from the tournament just ahead of Pakistan's crucial encounter against India on February 23 in Dubai.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later confirmed that the opening batter has been ruled out of the tournament remainder and named Imam-ul-Haq as his replacement.

Briefly, after getting ruled out of the eight-team tournament, media reports began to emerge, claiming that Fakhar was considering retirement.

Meanwhile, as per the latest development, Fakhar, who is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), dismissed the reports and shared that he remains committed to making his return to the national team after recovering from the injury.

“There is no truth in the retirement news,” said Fakhar. “I will be fully fit and join the team soon.”

Zaman, who made his international debut in 2017, has represented Pakistan in three Tests, 86 ODIs and 92 T20Is, accumulating 5691 runs across formats with the help of 11 centuries and 30 fifties.