After the Pakistan cricket team and board faced severe criticism following a defeat in the Champions Trophy opener, former legendary pacer Wasim Akram dismissed allegations of any favouritism in the team selection and expressed his full confidence in the Mohammad Rizwan-led squad.
Speaking on a show alongside Cheteshwar Pujara and Nikhil Chopra, Akram emphasised that the current team comprises the best available players and refuted claims of selection based on personal references.
"If you want me to be brutally honest, I can be. In our culture, we say, 'These are our kids, don't criticise them.' But I believe these are our best players. If there was someone better, they would have been selected. People talk about 'parchi' (selection based on favouritism), but at this level, parchi doesn't work," Akram asserted.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign has suffered a significant setback as opening batter Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
In his place, Imam-ul-Haq has been drafted into the squad for the remaining matches.
Fakhar sustained the injury while fielding during Pakistan's match against New Zealand in Karachi. The left-hander fell awkwardly in the opening over and was forced to leave the field for medical evaluation.
The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 has approved Imam-ul-Haq as Fakhar's replacement in Pakistan's squad.
All player replacements require official approval from the committee before being added to the squad.
Imam, who was already part of the Pakistan Shaheens squad, recently showcased his form with an impressive 98-run knock in a warm-up match against South Africa.
In the tournament opener, defending champions Pakistan suffered a 60-run defeat against New Zealand. Chasing a daunting target of 321, the Men in Green were bowled out for 260.
Khushdil Shah top-scored with a quickfire 69 off 49 deliveries, while Babar Azam contributed 64 off 90 balls.
For New Zealand, Will Young and Tom Latham struck centuries, while Glenn Phillips' explosive 61 off 39 deliveries provided a crucial boost to their total.
Pakistan now face a do-or-die clash against arch-rivals India in their next fixture, a must-win encounter to keep their title defence hopes alive.
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
