"How come a video from the dressing room was made public?" - Basit Ali slams PCB over viral clip of emotional Fakhar Zaman after 2025 CT opener

Former cricketer Basit Ali recently criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) media personnel after a video of batter Fakhar Zaman crying came out online. The Pakistan opener suffered an injury while fielding during the opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy against New Zealand.

Fakhar came out to bat in the second innings in the middle-order, but looked in discomfort during his stay. After the match ended, Fakhar was ruled out of the Champions Trophy as he needed some time to recover from his injury. Later, a video surfaced online where the southpaw was spotted in an emotional state and crying as his tournament ended prematurely.

Basit Ali was not a fan of such personal tender moments coming out on social media from the team dressing room. Speaking on the matter in a video on his YouTube channel, Ali said (at 3:39):

"A world-class batter said something yesterday that the video of Fakhar crying should not have come out. How come a video from the dressing room was made public? He said the right thing and I realized that at night what kind of media people are there in the PCB? What are they trying to gain? Is the entire team dependent on one Fakhar Zaman, one Babar Azam or one Mohammad Rizwan? Cricket is a team game."

The selectors have roped in Imam-ul-Haq as Fakhar's replacement for the rest of the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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"This is only just the beginning, the comeback will be stronger than the setback"- Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman

After being ruled out of the Champions Trophy, Fakhar Zaman expressed his disappointment and promised to make a strong comeback to his fans through a post on his X handle. He wrote:

"Representing Pakistan on the biggest stage is an honour and dream of every cricketer in this country. I have been privileged enough to represent Pakistan multiple times with pride. Unfortunately I’m now out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 but surely Allah is the best planner."

"Grateful for the opportunity. I will be backing our boys in green from home. This is only just the beginning, the comeback will be stronger than the setback. Pakistan Zindabad."

Pakistan will next face India in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Sunday (February 23) in Dubai.