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

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.

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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