Pakan officially rule out injured opener Saim Ayub from Champions Trophy | Cricket News
The Pakan Cricket Board on Friday officially ruled out opener Saim Ayub from the Champions Trophy, a decision which was an open secret since his name was not in Pakan’s announced squad for the tournament. A few weeks back, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had also ruled out Ayub’s availability, saying they are not going to risk the player’s future for the Champions Trophy.
“Pakan opener Saim Ayub is progressing well in his recovery from a right ankle fracture and will continue his rehabilitation in England. Following comprehensive MRI scans, X-rays, and medical assessments, Saim has been ruled out for 10 weeks from the date of injury (3 January). His availability for the New Zealand tour will be subject to clearing all fitness tests and medical requirements,” a statement from PCB read.
Pakan will tour New Zealand for five T20Is and three ODIs from March 16 to April 5, which will be followed the Pakan Super League starting on April 8.
Update on Saim Ayub
Details here ⤵️ https://t.co/cNlsYigWsb
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) February 7, 2025
Saim had fractured his ankle on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Capetown. Before that, the opener was in blering form scoring two ODI hundreds against the Proteas. He was also named in the recently-released ICC ODI team of the year.
Pakan, who are the hosts of the Champions Trophy are all set to start their campaign on February 19 against New Zealand in Karachi’s National Stadium. After that, they will move to Dubai to take on arch-rivals India on February 23 and will end their group stage commitments with a match vs Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.
