Saim Ayub Doubtful For Champions Trophy; Injury May Take More Than Six Weeks To Heal

Pakistan opener Saim Ayub’s participation in the Champions Trophy is in doubt as he might take more than six wickets to recover from injury.

Karachi: Pakistan opener Saim Ayub’s participation in the Champions Trophy is under doubt as a specialist in London has instructed him that his ankle injury is likely to take more than six wickets to heal according to a report by PTI. The 22-year-old had fractured his ankle during the second Test of the series against South Africa in Cape Town.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) flew their star batter from Cape Town to London to consult the specialists in order to heal the injury as soon as possible. He was treated by Dr. Lucky Jeyasaleen, an orthopaedic surgeon.

"Dr Jeyasaleen has advised Saim to not rush back to playing cricket as this could cause permanent trauma to his ankle injury," a reliable PCB source told PTI adding that it could take more than six weeks for a complete recovery.

By the look of things, it looks difficult that Saim will make it into the Champions Trophy squad as it might take him time to heal. The youngster will have another check-up in the coming weeks after which selectors will take a call around his spot in the national team.

“The selectors want him in the preliminary squad so that they can see how his recovery progresses by the time they have to submit the final 15-member squad to the tournament technical committee," the source added.

Imam-ul Haq is likely to replace Saim for the two-match Test series against West Indies while Fakhar Zaman will feature in place of the 22-year-old in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.