Pakistan’s star batter Fakhar Zaman put an end to all the speculation on his retirement from international cricket. After Fakhar got ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to an oblique muscle strain, rumours swirled within the Pakistani media that he was planning to announce his international retirement.
For the uninitiated, Fakhar hurt himself while trying to save a boundary in the opening fixture of the ongoing Champions Trophy. He walked off the field to receive the treatment and came back during the latter half of the innings. He also did not open for Pakistan and batted at No.4, where he found it hard to score fluently due to his injury and painstaking 24-run knock off 41 deliveries.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had released footage of Fakhar walking back to the dressing room after his dismissal where the 34-year-old could be seen crying as his teammates consoled him. This further added fuel to the fire as fans and pundits started connecting the dots, thinking that Fakhar could have played his last match in the Pakistan jersey.
However, as it turned out, the southpaw is not winding up his international career and is currently recovering from his injury. He himself cleared the air on his retirement and said that he is still committed to playing for Pakistan. Fakhar added that he could start playing cricket again from next month.
“I heard about this [retirement rumours] a lot and even my friends messaged me about it, but there's nothing to it. The ODI format is my favourite format. Yes, with my thyroid, there was a thing that I could take more time getting back into it. But I want to play T20s, ODIs, even Tests again. As far as my comeback is concerned, I spoke to the doctor and I can start playing cricket again within the month,” Fakhar said as quoted to PCB digital.
“The doctor has advised me that I can start training again in three weeks. So I think I should be back to playing cricket in a month's time,” he added.
Also read: CT 2025: Five experts who brutally slammed Pakistan after their shambolic loss to India
Fakhar Zaman’s Rift With PCB
Fakhar and PCB were not on good terms and sorted out their issues recently. He was given the show cause notice for a tweet in which he criticised PCB to drop Babar Azam from the Test team for the England Tests. He was also not given the central contract.
However, both the parties buried the hatchet as Fakhar made his return to the Pakistan set-up in the tri-series versus New Zealand and South Africa.
Pakistan Eliminated From Champions Trophy 2025
Pakistan, after losing to New Zealand and India, got knocked out of the tournament. Their third match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain in Rawalpindi. The Mohammad Rizwan-led side finished at the bottom of the points table in their group.
