Fakhar Zaman out of contention as Pakistan grapple with illness ahead of Australia clash

Babar Azam's team take on resurgent Australia in Bengaluru on Friday

Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman has been sidelined for their World Cup match against Australia in Bengaluru. AP

Pakistan received more unfortunate news on Thursday as opening batsman Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of their crucial World Cup match against Australia in Bengaluru.

Their World Cup campaign had already suffered a big jolt when they lost comprehensively to India by seven wickets in Ahmedabad. And as if the poor form of their bowlers and lower order batsmen was not enough, the Pakistan camp got hit by the flu, with a number of players arriving in Bengaluru with illness and fever.

According to reports, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel and Abdullah Shafique were among the players to fall ill. They are said to be feeling better now and should be in a position to be considered for selection.

However, opening batsman Zaman will not be available for selection. Zaman was ruled unavailable for selection until next week due to a knee injury, team management said.

The left-hander, 34, was dropped from the starting line-up after scoring just 12 in the opening win against the Netherlands and replaced by Shafique.

"Zaman is being treated for a knee injury, he is expected to be available for selection next week," said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Zaman had been struggling for form. His replacement Shafique has shown enough composure, even though Imam-ul-Haq is not inspiring much confidence and was expected to be replaced by Zaman.

India v Pakistan player ratings

India ratings: Rohit Sharma - 10/10. A perfect day in the office for the captain. Made the right bowling changes to maintain pressure, did not let the game drift in the middle overs when Pakistan were on top. Batted Pakistan out of the match within first 15 overs. India’s best batsman at the World Cup. AP

Shubman Gill - 5.5. Was reliable in the field and looked sublime for the limited period he batted. His energy levels were up even though he had just recovered from dengue. Excellent demeanour on his comeback. EPA

Virat Kohli - 5.5. Must be disappointed at getting out when another big innings was there for the taking. It was a nothing shot against a non-threatening short ball from Hasan Ali. Reuters

Shreyas Iyer - 8. The innings will give him a lot of confidence, guiding the team past the finish line with an unbeaten fifty. Did look ungainly against short balls, but avoided getting out to it. Every team will bounce him for sure. EPA

KL Rahul - 7. Clinical behind the stumps, took a fine catch off Pandya and remained unbeaten in the chase. Looks unperturbed in any situation, which has its own value. AFP

Hardik Pandya - 8.5. Got opener Imam out with an effort ball outside off. He has been bending his back this World Cup and can be classified as India’s second best quick behind Jasprit Bumrah. Arguably the team's most valuable cricketer. Getty

Ravindra Jadeja - 8/10. The left-arm spinner has been a rockstar on dry pitches that have offered grip and quick turn. Kept the runs down and took two late wickets. Captain Sharma can now depend on him blindly while bowling first. AFP

Shardul Thakur - 3. Not a lot to do. Bowled two overs and watched the game with the best view in the stadium. EPA

Kuldeep Yadav - 8.5. Ended the contest with two wickets in one over – trapped Saud Shakeel lbw with a slider and bowled Iftikhar Ahmed with a googly. Provides India invaluable wicket-taking options in the middle overs. Reuters

Jasprit Bumrah - 10. Was world-class on the flat deck in Delhi. Was equally sensational on an unresponsive pitch in Ahmedabad. Deceived a well set Rizwan with a slower one and bowled Shadab with a classic leg cutter. He is miles ahead of the competition. EPA

Mohammad Siraj - 7.5. Expensive outing for Siraj. But he did get the first wicket and also bowled the ball of the match – breaching the late cut of Babar Azam with an in cutter. Captain will be happy if he keeps producing such magic balls. EPA

Pakistan ratings: Abdullah Shafique - 5. Looked decent up front. Fell lbw to an effort ball from Siraj. Pakistan will take that, since he looks calm when at the crease. AFP

Imam-ul-Haq - 5. The left-hander looked like he intended to dominate the bowling. But after negotiating the opening quicks, edged Pandya behind. Could have done so much more after all the hard work. Reuters

Babar Azam - 7. The captain soaked up all the pressure from a partisan crowd. A hundred was there for the taking, but decided to late cut a Siraj in cutter. Pakistan lost the plot from there. EPA

Mohammad Rizwan - 7. Another enterprising innings from the wicketkeeper. Would definitely have kicked on, had batsmen from the other end not collapsed in a heap. Was deceived by a masterful slower one from Bumrah. Reuters

Saud Shakeel - 3. Made the cardinal sin of playing Kuldeep off the back foot and deep in the crease. Did not look comfortable at all. AFP

Iftikhar Ahmed - 3. Should have played Kuldeep out as he had just picked up a wicket. Played on against a googly that took his glove. AFP

Shadab Khan - 2. Ineffective with the bat and totally off colour with the ball. Does not seem to be putting his full body behind the ball, which makes his leg spin cannon fodder for batsmen. AP

Mohammad Nawaz - 6. Tried his best and batsmen did treat him with some respect. Should do well whenever Pakistan bowl first. Getty

Hasan Ali - 6. An honest effort with the ball, got Kohli’s wicket off a short ball, which takes some doing. Gave less than six runs an over, when India chased down 191 inside 31 overs. AP

Shaheen Afridi - 6. Got both openers and bent his back, as much as he could. Looks well short of his best, with his pace down as well. Not good signs as Haris Rauf is leaking runs. AFP

Haris Rauf - 3. Expensive outing for the right arm quick. In the absence of Naseem Shah, a lot of burden rests on his shoulders. But he has been a disappointment. Neither control, nor wickets. AP

Also, leg-spinner Usama Mir could replace either Shadab Khan or Mohammad Nawaz as a specialist spinner after both all-rounders struggled to make an impact either with ball or bat.

Pakistan made a solid start to the tournament with wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka at Hyderabad.

The crowd in Hyderabad was behind them as Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan both scored centuries in Pakistan's record run chase of 345-4.

But the team in green faced a vociferous partisan crowd of more than 100,000 India supporters at Ahmedabad as they slumped from 155-2 to be all out for 191.

“Win or lose is part of the game,” said wicketkeeper Rizwan. “We have lost to India, but if you see we had also won two matches. We have to match our skills with our game awareness. We can’t say we are behind the world.”

While their batting has been decent, Pakistan's bowling has become a problem. Afridi has struggled to pick up early wickets and is down on pace, while Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali have performed in patches. Spinners Shadab and Nawaz have been off colour.

However, Rizwan backed his bowlers to come good.

“Everyone is saying we are unpredictable but I believe we have the world’s top bowlers,” Rizwan said. “Everyone is rightly thinking that our spinners are not picking up wickets, but if you look at their bowling they are doing good. Shadab and Nawaz can turn the match in our favor any time.”

Meanwhile, Australia got their campaign back on track with a battling five-wicket win over Sri Lanka. The five-time champions lost the first two games of the tournament comprehensively to India and South Africa, before pulling things back against the islanders.

Leg spinner Adam Zampa led the way with the ball, picking up four wickets.

“We all back each other 100 per cent in this team,” Zampa said after the Sri Lanka win.