Saim Ayub officially ruled out of Champions Trophy by PCB

Pakistan batsman Saim Ayub has unfortunately been ruled out for a further five weeks due to the ankle injury he suffered in South Africa back in January. This means he will miss the entirety of the upcoming Champions Trophy, scheduled until March 9. It is still unclear whether he will be able to participate in Pakistan's white-ball series in New Zealand following his rehabilitation. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the field soon.

A PCB statement said Ayub was "progressing well in his right ankle fracture injury". He remains in England, where he will complete the remainder of his rehabilitation, and has been ruled out for 10 weeks from the time of his injury, which he picked up while fielding in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town five weeks ago.

Ayub had to be stretchered off the pitch in just the seventh over of the match, when Ryan Rickelton edged a delivery through the slips, sending Ayub off on a chase to deep third alongside Aamer Jamal. Jamal pulled it back in as Ayub stood poised to be the relay fielder, but lost his balance and twisted his ankle. He went down immediately and appeared in anguish holding the lower part of his leg as the physio rushed on.

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Despite prolonged treatment outside the boundary line, Ayub was unable to put any weight on his right ankle, and appeared to be in tears as he was placed on to a stretcher and taken off. He was later seen on crutches in the medical booth.

The PCB initially said he would be ruled out for six weeks, which offered some hope of his availability for the Champions Trophy, which Pakistan host. Last week the board announced the squad for the tournament, with Ayub absent from it.

A week after the Champions Trophy final, Pakistan embark upon an eight-match white-ball tour of New Zealand, playing five T20Is and three ODIs between 16 March and 5 April. The Pakistan Super League starts on 8 April.