Riaz’s Champions Trophy journey was brought to an end by an ankle injury

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Ruman Raees has been brought in as a replacement for fellow left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz, whose Champions Trophy campaign was ended by an ankle injury.

Riaz, who will be returning back to Lahore, will be out of action for two weeks after being diagnosed with a “deltoid ligament complex”, which he sustained while bowling in Pakistan’s opening game against India at Edgbaston on Sunday.

The country’s selection committee met at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) headquarters on Tuesday and narrowed down the possible replacements for Riaz to Raees and Mohammad Abbas, who made his debut for Pakistan in their recent three-Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

However, Raees got the nod over Abbas since he is able to “bowl in the death overs” and has a “better strike rate” in limited overs cricket.

With the ICC’s Event Technical Committee having given Pakistan the green light to call up Raees, it remains to be seen if he will be selected in the playing XI as Pakistan look to bounce back from their loss against India when they face South Africa on Wednesday and Sri Lanka on June 12.