Big blow to Pakistan ahead of must-win match against South Africa as THIS batsman gets ruled out

Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of his side's do-or-die game against South Africa which is to be played on November 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. The left-hand batsman is recovering from a knee injury and was yet to recover when he was asked to play in the T20 World Cup 2022. It is most likely that he will not be able to take part in both the remaining games of the event. Pakistan Cricket Board's medical chief and Pakistan's team doctor, Najeeb Soomro informed the media that Fakhar is suffering from a knee injury that he suffered during the Asia Cup 2022.

“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.

“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.

The situation for Babar Azam and Co. got worse when India lost to South Africa on Sunday (October 30) and it is completely out of their hands now to qualify for the semi-finals. However, they would still need to win both their remaining fixtures by margins to keep that glimmer of hope alive in the T20 World Cup 2022. Pakistan now need to beat both South Africa and Bangladesh hoping that India lose both their remaining fixtures. Moreover, if the Netherlands beat South Africa, it could also help Pakistan's case. Pakistan can still make it on net run rate but they need to beat India on net run rate and also hope South Africa vs Netherlands game gets washed out.