"If Imam does not score runs in the next series, he can be excluded from the team" : Inzamam-ul-Haq

[Hashaam Tahir]

"If Imam does not score runs in the next series, he can be excluded from the team" : Inzamam-ul-Haq

Quotes from Inzamam-ul-Haq

"This was the same captain when we won the Test series against Australia and T20Is as well" : Inzi

"This is a bad performance as the team could not make 170 in the first Test and in the last match, we couldn't play 70 overs then I won't say that its the captain's fault, as it was our fault [all of us were to blame]"

"I wouldnt say its the captain's fault but it happened 3 times in this series that our batting did not click at the right time"

"This is very serious problem which has come to the fore for us"

"Before this we could not score 135 against Sri Lanka, so we have a problem and we will need to work seriously on this"

"The regular batsmen and the tailenders will have to take responsibility on themselves"

"Even the tailenders need to take responsibility and where a person is not taking responsibility, then a change can be made"

"South Africa's team is good and conditions there will not be tough but different"

"Pakistan will need to work hard, especially if we look at our performance in the last Test series, we will need to raise ourselves mentally and technically"

"It shouldn't be the case that if we in the toss then we will win the match; the players seem to have mental blockage about this and they will have to fight to get rid of this [attitude]"

"If we had won the series against New Zealand and then gone to South Africa, our morale would have been better"

"The record of partnerships by tailenders is only better than that of Zimbabwe"


========================

What kind of changes they can make because 3 senior players Azhar, Asad, Haris Sohail are performing good. Babar Azam has the highest Average in 2018. Hafeez has taken retirement. There is only Sarfraz and Imam left.

 

[MMHS]

I am not sure if it’s a quote from PCB’s CS or OP’s wish.

If it’s former (quote from CS), then almost certainly there won’t be any change - this guy doesn’t speak mind. For example, he named 15 men squad for first 2 Tests and it ended 1-1, then continued with identical 15 for 3rd Test ..... now has dropped players from SAF tour who haven’t even played a game!!!!

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

I am not sure if it’s a quote from PCB’s CS or OP’s wish.

If it’s former (quote from CS), then almost certainly there won’t be any change - this guy doesn’t speak mind. For example, he named 15 men squad for first 2 Tests and it ended 1-1, then continued with identical 15 for 3rd Test ..... now has dropped players from SAF tour who haven’t even played a game!!!!

He said to the media that he feels that these guys should be given one more chance and that if they do not do well in SA big changes could be made.

He said Imam has this serie to prove himself.

 

[Mainul]

Did inzi said it?
Ok, if changes is made then Inzi will bring back any one of Khurram Manjoor,Umar Amin,Ahmed Shehzad, Wahab Riaz,Rahat Ali,Umar Akmal.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pakistan's problem is not performance of specific players but rather their inability to capitalize on situations when they are on top. There is no reason Pakistan shouldn't have won this series, we dominated for the most part. But when it mattered most, Pakistan didn't just not step up but shot themselves in the arm. Collapses while chasing, collapses while being in the lead, collapses while trying to draw the match: Pakistan have done it all.

Chasing targets like 145 or 136 is something most teams don't even think twice about. Regardless of the pitch teams are expected to chase down such targets especially when they're the home-team. Until Pakistan don't get through this mental block they will keep losing.

 

[MMHS]

He said to the media that he feels that these guys should be given one more chance and that if they do not do well in SA big changes could be made.

He said Imam has this serie to prove himself.

Hope he is honest to his words then - I don’t trust him, but people do change with time.

 

[Godhelpma]

Pakistan's problem is not performance of specific players but rather their inability to capitalize on situations when they are on top. There is no reason Pakistan shouldn't have won this series, we dominated for the most part. But when it mattered most, Pakistan didn't just not step up but shot themselves in the arm. Collapses while chasing, collapses while being in the lead, collapses while trying to draw the match: Pakistan have done it all.

Chasing targets like 145 or 136 is something most teams don't even think twice about. Regardless of the pitch teams are expected to chase down such targets especially when they're the home-team. Until Pakistan don't get through this mental block they will keep losing.

Excellent analysis . Problem is more with the mentality than technique or performance . The players who scored centuries in the first innings , were falling down like nine pins and the same story happens almost in every chase in tests.

 

[MenInG]

Have added his quotes in post #1

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Just 20 points separate Pak, WI and B'desh now (7-8-9)

If at all Desh goes past Pak in test rankings that would be the biggest achievement for BCB in their history baring winning a WC .. fingers crossed!

 

[Sarwar89]

This same team should be given one more chance in South Africa and lets see. They deserve 1 chance.

 

[Ami]

[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION]
Ur spot on.

 

[topspin]

"If this sort of performance continues, then there will be changes in the team"

Then why didn't you name the squad after the conclusion of the test?! (rather than just before the outcome)

 

[Heisenberg111]

Just 20 points separate Pak, WI and B'desh now (7-8-9)

If at all Desh goes past Pak in test rankings that would be the biggest achievement for BCB in their history baring winning a WC .. fingers crossed!

23 points to be exact and that's a large enough gap. Rankings will be reset next wear for the world test championship anyway, so all teams will start from 0 points.

 

[Asif321]

And when will you change urself

 

[Majid Khan]

Indy must be thinking it’s time to bring back Imran Farhat, Ahmad Shezad, Umar and Kamran Akmal to add some experience to the batting line up.

 

[DRsohail]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] please read added posts.

 

[Zeeraq]

New quotes added.

 

[Zeeraq]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Inzamam-ul-Haq "Imam comes under a lot of criticism because he is my nephew. Although he did not score many runs in the New Zealand Test series we must not forget that his performance over the course of the year was pretty good" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1071418164389560320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Inzamam-ul-Haq "We want to give Imam some time to get his form back but if he does not score runs in the next series, he can also be excluded from the team" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1071418370787024896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[last_knight]

Legacy on line albeit different grounds of CS.

But Imam ul Haq won't fail in SA. He will be key performer.

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] please read added posts.

Yes, read it. Condition in SAF won’t be tough but different, which leaves one possibility that it can be easier as well. Good luck for Imam- if he doesn’t perform, then uncle might think of his future.

 

[ARK Rafay]

It's a mentality too. Culture of Cricket here needs to revamped

 

[Buffet]

Just 20 points separate Pak, WI and B'desh now (7-8-9)

If at all Desh goes past Pak in test rankings that would be the biggest achievement for BCB in their history baring winning a WC .. fingers crossed!

20 points are huge in the test format. I don't think WI/BD can earn 20 points quickly. BD may actually get near if high rank non-asian teams are visiting BD in near future. I don't know the FTP. Also Pakistan normally hangs around 100 points and they are below their normal range. Over all, Pakistan shouldn't drop to 8th/9th rank in the test format.

 

[MMHS]

This guy Ul Haq is such a hypocrite!!! He is giving explanation using his weight as a former great.

Dropped 4 middle orders & Azhar won’t open; means PAK can’t pick any middle order in position of Imam, as there is none in squad. In 6 innings, if he crosses 50 just once, Ul Haq will bring him back in winter series as there is no Test after SAF tour.

I am sure, we will see something similar in ODI squad as well.

 

[Mirpur express]

Same old.... why not drop Imam who failed in 5 tests & has a mediocre fc record anyway & give Saad a chance? poor guy gets dropped without getting a game. Reality is k bhateeja g ka dil nahi tor sakty.

 

[Abdullah]

Im cool with giving imam games, like I was with babar.
After all we are trying to find batters who are going to give us 10 years at the top.

I would rather give them a few extra games than too few.

We were never going to move on from the misbah and yk exit seamlessly. I guess we have actually done ok since the two retired given all the tests we have lost at home we have been on top for the most part except for the last day madness. and then there was the 1-1 in England.

So we just need to be patient and I think we will be a top 4 team soon once we have chased a 4th innings score to alleviate the scars

 

[Sadozai]

only talks nothing else

 

[CricketDon]

By score he means either a 50 or a 40 twice. That’s all

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Pakistan's biggest problem always has been it's selection of players in the wrong formats.

A player who scores runs in List A would be inducted in the Test team and the FC player would be in the ODI team.

Many players over the last 20 years have come and gone in this fashion and have destroyed their careers because of this as they didn't perform in the formats they got picked in and got discarded just because of that.

 

[DRsohail]

Pakistan's biggest problem always has been it's selection of players in the wrong formats.

A player who scores runs in List A would be inducted in the Test team and the FC player would be in the ODI team.

Many players over the last 20 years have come and gone in this fashion and have destroyed their careers because of this as they didn't perform in the formats they got picked in and got discarded just because of that.

iMAM IS NEITHER LIST A NOR lIST B SPECIALIST.

 

[gazza619]

A very unprofessional quote. Why single out one player? Whether you like Imam or you dont, this is not the kind of thing he deserved to hear from chief selector ahead of SA series.

 

[DRsohail]

A very unprofessional quote. Why single out one player? Whether you like Imam or you dont, this is not the kind of thing he deserved to hear from chief selector ahead of SA series.

Afterall he is not going to keep his words.We know him.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

iMAM IS NEITHER LIST A NOR lIST B SPECIALIST.

If you read the post in accordance to what has been said in the OP, Inzi stated Imam has had a good year, where as his good year was those 4 100's in ODI cricket that he made and he's basing his decision on that.

 

[DRsohail]

If you read the post in accordance to what has been said in the OP, Inzi stated Imam has had a good year, where as his good year was those 4 100's in ODI cricket that he made and he's basing his decision on that.

Yea i know.what you mean,but after all those performces were against D side of zim where you could have scored a hundred.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Yea i know.what you mean,but after all those performces were against D side of zim where you could have scored a hundred.

Even if those performances came against 5 year olds still Inzi would have said the same as he has now.

 

[Justcrazy]

This guy Ul Haq is such a hypocrite!!! He is giving explanation using his weight as a former great.

Dropped 4 middle orders & Azhar won’t open; means PAK can’t pick any middle order in position of Imam, as there is none in squad. In 6 innings, if he crosses 50 just once, Ul Haq will bring him back in winter series as there is no Test after SAF tour.

I am sure, we will see something similar in ODI squad as well.

When he was captain , he did not allow any middle order batsman to grow. What he is doing now , is not surprising.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Imams had a good year? Sorry which tests were these inzi? I must have been asleep

 

[Mirpur express]

Pakistan's biggest problem always has been it's selection of players in the wrong formats.

A player who scores runs in List A would be inducted in the Test team and the FC player would be in the ODI team.

Many players over the last 20 years have come and gone in this fashion and have destroyed their careers because of this as they didn't perform in the formats they got picked in and got discarded just because of that.

Couldn’t agree more.. above mentioned is the biggest problem in Pakistan cricket administration

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Why does Asad Shafiq always go under the scanner. Yes he scored a century. And yes, Sarfraz, Imam and Hafeez played worse than him. But 1 century and 0 fifties in 6 innings isn't good enough from your "Senior batter". He has a habit of falling cheaply after scoring a ton. He does that in the worst ways possible. In last Test, getting a golden duck was a pretty characteristic Asad Shafiq dismissal.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Yeah calling bluff on this. Imam ul-haq is playing every test and every ODI as long as inzy is here. I'm honestly surprised he isn't opening for us in T20s too lol

 

[sshakir411]

Remember the time every PPer was against Imam's odi selection because "he was a better suited for tests"....Imam > Sami > Hafeez. Don't think he deserves the chop.

 

[Cric1234]

Averages 30 so far after the next series against SA it'll be closer to 25 let's see if Inzi is a man of his word and drops him.

 

[shane]

Sounds a bit like the Akmals with their "just two more chances". I actually think Imam is a decent player though, but his obvious weakness against short bowling means he won't get far unless he addresses it.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Imam is probably the most undeserving selection in this team in the past decade. Gunda-gardi chal rahi hai khullay aam

He will never amount to anything.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Picking Shan and Imam over Abid who has the runs plus technically far better than the two was criminal.

Someone has to anwser.

 

[iniqbal223]

Even Imam was my son, I would stop him to go on SA tour, after seeing his glaring weaknesses in UAE. This is the case of destroying a career of someone, who was not developed mentally and skill wise yet. Inzy, in fact is ruining the (whatever) career Imam has left with.

One can see Inzy going - if Pak can't reach semis in WC- and almost no return for Imam.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Picking Shan and Imam over Abid who has the runs plus technically far better than the two was criminal.

Someone has to anwser.

He is almost 32 . It's better to give chances to youngester

 

[Amjid Javed]

Imam will be more exposed in SA and then "dropped from test side". He will then get some cheap runs against minnows in ODIs and be "recalled to test side"

this is how selection is done by Inzi.

 

[wasimjunior]

Pakistan's problem is not performance of specific players but rather their inability to capitalize on situations when they are on top. There is no reason Pakistan shouldn't have won this series, we dominated for the most part. But when it mattered most, Pakistan didn't just not step up but shot themselves in the arm. Collapses while chasing, collapses while being in the lead, collapses while trying to draw the match: Pakistan have done it all.

Chasing targets like 145 or 136 is something most teams don't even think twice about. Regardless of the pitch teams are expected to chase down such targets especially when they're the home-team. Until Pakistan don't get through this mental block they will keep losing.

This. Test match is about a battle of sessions and Pak dominated most sessions with a clear lead. It’s not a player problem

 

[Hashaam Tahir]

No player in the world can perform in every innings. Sarfraz batting has been exposed more than imam. We should consider to replace him first.

 

[aloo paratha]

Usman Salahuddin dropped after 1 game, Saad Ali dropped without even playing a game, imam ul Haq, will get 6 test matches to prove himself, even with an inferior FC record.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Usman Salahuddin dropped after 1 game, Saad Ali dropped without even playing a game, imam ul Haq, will get 6 test matches to prove himself, even with an inferior FC record.

Don't criticize just for the sake of criticizing. Usman and Saad are middle-order batsmen and Imam is an opener. At present, it's harder to break into the middle-order because of established players like Azhar, Shafiq, Haris and Babar then it is to break into the opening slot which has no viable candidates besides Fakhar Zaman.

 

[aloo paratha]

Don't criticize just for the sake of criticizing. Usman and Saad are middle-order batsmen and Imam is an opener. At present, it's harder to break into the middle-order because of established players like Azhar, Shafiq, Haris and Babar then it is to break into the opening slot which has no viable candidates besides Fakhar Zaman.

Doesn't mean you have to drop them from the squad. The talk here is about getting chances, I would say the same even about bowlers, actually I can! Mir Hamza dropped after 1 game, this was before Hasan Ali played well in the UAE, and only 1 fast bowler (Abbas) had his spot cemented.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Doesn't mean you have to drop them from the squad. The talk here is about getting chances, I would say the same even about bowlers, actually I can! Mir Hamza dropped after 1 game, this was before Hasan Ali played well in the UAE, and only 1 fast bowler (Abbas) had his spot cemented.

Its a 16 man squad, not a 30 man squad. There are obviously limited slots and looking at the squad I don't see any player who can be dropped in favor of Saad Ali, Usman Salahuddin and Mir Hamza.

South Africa is one of the worst places to debut and certainly no place to throw in two batsmen (one who has played 1 test and one who has played 0)

 

[Markhor]

He is almost 32 . It's better to give chances to youngester

Who are these quality young openers in domestic ? We have to select on merit not age. The two highest averaging openers in QEA Trophy in the last two seasons are Fakhar Zaman and Abid Ali.

 

[topspin]

He is almost 32 . It's better to give chances to youngester

Pakistan needs a short term boost and act fast. We're paying the price for a lack of succession planning.

The most prominent opening youngsters are Imam, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood and etc who are awful.

Fakhar and Azhar need to open with Abid Ali as reserve if one doesn't click.

 

[charlie007]

Why do Pakistanis start judging their players after a couple of matches or even a series. Players can go out of form, may have some other issues etc. If you think someone is good enough to represent your country, give them a longer rope and create conditions where they can succeed rather than just waiting to chuck them out! Can't get my head around this.

 

[emranabbas]

Hope this is the end of him
He started as promising player for Pak but now worse then Ahmed shehzad

 

[Greenstorm]

Players in Pakistan get dropped from all formats so hopefully he will be dropped from ODI squad as well.

 

[last_knight]

Legacy on line albeit different grounds of CS.

But Imam ul Haq won't fail in SA. He will be key performer.

Because Imam is not a bad player.

 

[emranabbas]

Hope uncle sticks to his words

 

[MenInG]

Wont have an option but then the 'look no one else also did well' excuse may come into play

 

[Markhor]

Put him out of his misery.

 

[hadi123]

1 good innings out of 4 this series. I think he'll play the 3rd Test and if he fails there, he'll be dropped. But which replacements are there for him? I really was a fan of Sami Aslam but he's out of form

 

[Asif321]

Nephew has lost us many matches already

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Imam will be more exposed in SA and then "dropped from test side". He will then get some cheap runs against minnows in ODIs and be "recalled to test side"

this is how selection is done by Inzi.

spot on

 

[MRSN]

1 good innings out of 4 this series. I think he'll play the 3rd Test and if he fails there, he'll be dropped. But which replacements are there for him? I really was a fan of Sami Aslam but he's out of form

Nothing explains Pakistan's decline better than this "who will replace him" excuse for a mediocre constantly failing players.