Wahab Riaz ruled out of the tournament
Wahab Riaz’s ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign came to an end on Monday (June 5), after scans revealed that he would need around two weeks to recover from an ankle injury sustained inPakistan's Group B game against India.
After bowling the fourth ball of his eighth over at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday, Riaz twisted his right ankle and had to hop off the ground without his shoes on. It was the 46th over of the innings, and Riaz did not participate in the game further. Imad Wasim completed Riaz’s over.
Later scans confirmed that he suffered a deltoid ligament complex. Riaz himself had come in to complete the 44th over after Mohammad Amir injured himself after bowling just one ball in his ninth over. In that over, Riaz had a chance to dismiss Virat Kohli, but Fakhar Zaman, the 12th man, dropped the catch.
Kohli went on to remain unbeaten on 81 off 68 balls as India posted 319 for 3 in 48 overs on its way to a 124-run win in a rain-affected game. Riaz finished with figures of 8.4-0-87-0, making him only the second bowler after Lasith Malinga (7), to concede 80 or more runs in an ODI four times.
When questioned at the post-match press conference if he would take the blame for playing Riaz, Mickey Arthur, the coach, said that the left-arm seamer was fully fit before the fixture.
“Alright, let’s get something straight first off. Wahab Riaz was fully fit. He went through a fitness test; he was declared fully fit,” Arthur had said. “So, it’s not that Wahab Riaz was not fit. He was fit for the game. Okay? He performed poorly today. But he had a role to play. And I will take the blame, me, I will take it. I selected him. I selected him because I wanted him to perform a role. Okay? He didn’t execute that role, unfortunately. So, sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t.”
Apart from Amir and Hasan Ali, both of whom played against India, Pakistan’s other pace bowling options are Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf. Pakistan Cricket Board have sent a replacement request to the International Cricket Council’s Technical Committee, which is yet to be approved.
Pakistan play its next game against South Africa at the same venue on June 7.