In the Green Shirts' fifth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on October 23 will not feature Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman.

With Pakistan taking on Afghanistan in Chennai tomorrow (Monday), Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman is most likely to miss the World Cup clash, sources said on Sunday.

According to the sources, the 33-year-old will apparently not be available for the game against Afghanistan due to his knee injury for which he is currently undergoing treatment.

However, the team management said they are confident that the left-arm batsman will be fit before the match against South Africa, the sources added.

According to the sources, the team management remains hopeful that Zaman will recover in time to play in Pakistan's upcoming match against South Africa. On the positive side, Zaman's health has improved significantly and all other players who were previously ill during the World Cup in India have now fully recovered.

According to the sources, all players except Fakhar will fight for selection against Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier announced that Zaman was undergoing treatment for his knee injury and would be ready for selection next week. Agha Salman also struggled with fever but is said to be on the road to recovery.

The rest of the players in Pakistan's World Cup squad were doing well, the PCB had mentioned.

After an episode of fever, almost all the players, except Muhammad Haris, were seen training in Bengaluru last Wednesday for the team's World Cup match against Australia on October 20.

Haris was advised to rest after contracting a fever, while other players who had previously fallen ill were seen on the ground training at full strength.

On Tuesday, six players of the Pakistan team “missed” the optional training session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The six players who did not take part in the training session included Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi and Agha Salman, as well as traveling substitutes Zaman Khan and Mohammad Haris.