Setback for Pak as injured Riaz ruled out of Champions Trophy
London: In a major blow to Pakistan, fast-bowler Wahab Riaz has been ruled out of the rest of the Champions Trophy one-day international tournament due to an ankle injury. The 31-year-old sustained the injury whilst bowling during his side's crushing 124-run defeat against arch-rivals India at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Sunday. Confirming the news, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that Riaz underwent scans following the match which revealed that he would take minimum two weeks to recover fully from the injury. "A scan has confirmed that Wahab Riaz suffered a deltoid ligament complex after an eversion injury mechanism whilst bowling during the India vs Pakistan match on June 4th," a PCB statement said. "It will take minimum 2 weeks to recover from this injury. Wahab will not be able to continue to play in remaining games of the Champions Trophy," it added. Riaz managed to bowl a total of 8.4 overs before he was forced to head back to the pavilion as India put on a daunting total of 319-3 in 48 overs in a rain-curtailed encounter. The PCB statement further said that they had made an official request to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) event technical committee to call-up a replacement for Wahab. Pakistan need to beat South Africa, the world's top-ranked ODI side, in their next Group B clash at Edgbaston on Wednesday,in order to have any chance of making it to the semi-finals of the eight-team marquee event. —ANI
