Imam-ul-Haq selected - But has he been picked for the right format?

[Abdullah719]

His List A record hardly merits this selection, averaging in the mid-30s with a SR of 74.

Played the Departmental and Regional One Day Cups last season and made 414 runs in 13 matches at an average of 31 with a SR in the mid-70s.

Baffling selection in my view. He should have been selected ahead of Shan for the Test squad, for sure. But he doesn't merit selection for the ODI format.

 

[hadi123]

Nope. He should play tests only based on his record. But, I think this selection was done on a horses for courses basis. Azhar Ali has been rested as he has only been playing this test series with injections in order for him to remain fit and I guess these ODIs aren't that important so it's a good decision to rest him and I am just assuming the selectors wanted a like for like replacement and in that case Imam ul Haq is the best alternative.

Inzamam and his selection team may have felt that with Zaman as one aggressive opener, there is a need for the other opener to be more steady and that's what Azhar Ali/Imam ul Haq are. At least this tells me that
Imam ul Haq is being considered and hopefully he will get a go in the format he deserves a chance in - tests.

 

[Madplayer]

Wrong selection in my opinion. Should have picked an aggressive bat like Sahibzada Farhan.

But i can see where Inzi is coming from. Imam will play the same role that Azhar played while Fakhar will go all guns blazing at the other end.

 

[clean n cool]

Sahibzada Farhan is a bit inexperienced maybe. Hoping he will be play in the psl and come into the limelight the same way Fakhar Zaman did...

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

No


This is an awful selection

In tests I get it but in Odis ..... well let’s just say that I’m very dissapointed in inzi

Imam is arguably more timid then Azhar

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

His List A record hardly merits this selection, averaging in the mid-30s with a SR of 74.

Played the Departmental and Regional One Day Cups last season and made 414 runs in 13 matches at an average of 31 with a SR in the mid-70s.

Baffling selection in my view. He should have been selected ahead of Shan for the Test squad, for sure. But he doesn't merit selection for the ODI format.

Imam ul Haq's first class and list averages are very similar. He doesn't deserve to be selected in any format!

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

I think after Fakhar Zaman the ODI selectors should know what Pakistani ODI XI has been lacking for a long time.

We must change our ODI mindset for '19 World Cup.

 

[Cric1234]

Imam ul Haq's first class and list averages are very similar. He doesn't deserve to be selected in any format!

With Inzimam there it was likely he might selected at some point he doesn't look to posses enough to be succesful in ODIs but proof will come when he plays.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

three lefties sami, imam and amin where on the race but imam is an interesting selection though

 

[ExpressPacer]

Umar Amin should have been selected instead.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Pretty poor selection in regards to picking a player whose probably not suited to this format, do our management and selectors ever use any intelligence and planning when making such selections?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Poor selection.Should have been in consideration for tests,not ODI’s.

 

[dilojaanpakistan]

"Imam-ul-Haq has been selected in the squad, keeping his performance in the domestic circuit, and to give a chance to a youngster in home conditions."


The hypocrisy of Inzi.
On one hand, Fawad who has been performing for years and on another hand His nephew gets selected for avg record for last 2 years.
Great going Inzi. There was something about you that I was never a fan of beside you being a good batsmen. I am glad you are proving me and many other right.

 

[Titan24]

Why is Azhar Ali dropped? He had a pretty good CT 17.

 

[hadi123]

Why is Azhar Ali dropped? He had a pretty good CT 17.

Rested as he is not fully fit. Only playing these tests as he is our senior batsman and he has been having injections to keep him fit for these tests.

 

[Titan24]

Rested as he is not fully fit. Only playing these tests as he is our senior batsman and he has been having injections to keep him fit for these tests.

Thanks for clarification [MENTION=57506]hadi123[/MENTION]

 

[90MPH]

Inzi had some baffling selections when he was captain. He wanted to play it safe.

So no surprises here. Now he's been slelected let's back him but his domestic stats don't look promising at all.

 

[Hasan123]

Should have been given a chance in tests ahead of Shan.

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Just another example of how clueless our selectors are when it comes to selecting players for the modern version of the game.

Inzi is actually doing a disservice to his nephew by selecting him for this format. If and when Fakhar will be dismissed early and it is going to happen, tuk tuk will begin.

 

[Bilal7]

He's covering for Azhar, who's been rested for one series. Nothing wrong with that at all.

This should encourage Imam to keep up his performances and making a debut in One Day cricket is easier than making a debut in tests.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

With Inzimam there it was likely he might selected at some point he doesn't look to posses enough to be succesful in ODIs but proof will come when he plays.

Inzamam knew that imam will not be selected by any psl franchise therefore he made sure that imam gets directly into the team.

 

[Alam_dar]

Where is Talat? I think he deserved to be in the ODIs.

 

[sshakir411]

The diversity of opinion in this thread is awesome.

 

[srh]

The diversity of opinion in this thread is awesome.

what diversity? Everybody is against this selection except one person who always try to justify all actions of Inzi because he is a bigger fan of Inzi than Pakistan cricket

 

[Abdullah719]

Imam ul Haq's first class and list averages are very similar. He doesn't deserve to be selected in any format!

He was the top-scoring opener in the QEA last season and has started well this season so that is a valid enough reason to select him.

No obvious reason to select him in the shorter formats.

 

[sshakir411]

what diversity? Everybody is against this selection except one person who always try to justify all actions of Inzi because he is a bigger fan of Inzi than Pakistan cricket

Look up sarcasm.

 

[CricFan2012]

Now folks, this is a clear cut case of nepotism, mashala Pakistani political culture shining through our cricket once again

Why not try this lad Farhan? Who going by stats actually knows how to play in this modern era....

 

[Bilal7]

what diversity? Everybody is against this selection except one person who always try to justify all actions of Inzi because he is a bigger fan of Inzi than Pakistan cricket

Inzi is the best chief selector Pakistan have ever had. Lose him and triumphs like the CT become that much more difficult. I would think that people would be more willing to give Chief Aloo the benefit of the doubt after that sweet, sweet thrashing of India but looks like wrist-slitters will be wrist-slitters.

I'll be here when Imam proves all of you wrong.

 

[Alam_dar]

Inzi is the best chief selector Pakistan have ever had. Lose him and triumphs like the CT become that much more difficult. I would think that people would be more willing to give Chief Aloo the benefit of the doubt after that sweet, sweet thrashing of India but looks like wrist-slitters will be wrist-slitters.

I'll be here when Imam proves all of you wrong.

We are not interested if Imam proves us in future right or wrong, but at moment Imam's Stats are proving his selection wrong. While there are other more deserving prospects, especially in this format.
Talat should have been given a chance.
Sahibzada Farhan is another person who deserves it more than Imam.

 

[Markhor]

Sahibzada Farhan would've been my pick but I guess since he's only played 9 LA matches they want to give him more time to develop.

Its a weird pick, Imam-ul-Haq should be the third opener in a Test squad behind Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam.

I know he scored two hundreds in the Emerging Players Cup earlier this year but that was against weak Hong Kong and Nepal sides. His averages in recent domestic 50 over tournaments was in the early 30s and his SR is 1990s level.

Still I don't expect him to feature in the starting XI but we do need to find more hard hitting batsmen.

 

[Rayyman]

Shouldn't get a game, but if he does, hope he does well.

 

[Bilal7]

We are not interested if Imam proves us in future right or wrong, but at moment Imam's Stats are proving his selection wrong. While there are other more deserving prospects, especially in this format.
Talat should have been given a chance.
Sahibzada Farhan is another person who deserves it more than Imam.

Cricket is not played on spreadsheets and plenty of players that were thought to be undeserving selections ended up proving people wrong, like Inzamam himself during the '92 World Cup.

Let Imam play a game before bashing him.

 

[sshakir411]

Imam has performed consistently for a while. Yeah his style is old-fashioned and like all other young players he has areas where he can improve, i.e SR. But let's not put a negative label on the kid since he has actually done well in the build up to his selection for the national team.

 

[wasimjunior]

Big imam fan. Easy to claim nepotism and read stats. Has anyone actually seen him bat?

I have and the kid is class.

 

[Abdullah719]

Imam has performed consistently for a while. Yeah his style is old-fashioned and like all other young players he has areas where he can improve, i.e SR. But let's not put a negative label on the kid since he has actually done well in the build up to his selection for the national team.

The negative label is not on Imam. I can only feel sorry for him in this case as he will be under a lot of pressure; the media has already been bombarding Inzi with questions about nepotism and now Imam will have to go out of his comfort zone to prove himself.

Selecting him in Tests after he's had a breakthrough season and has proven himself would have been a far more sensible way to introduce him to international cricket. His selection would be completely on merit as he was the top-scoring opener in the QeA Trophy last season.

 

[sshakir411]

The negative label is not on Imam. I can only feel sorry for him in this case as he will be under a lot of pressure; the media has already been bombarding Inzi with questions about nepotism and now Imam will have to go out of his comfort zone to prove himself.

Selecting him in Tests after he's had a breakthrough season and has proven himself would have been a far more sensible way to introduce him to international cricket. His selection would be completely on merit as he was the top-scoring opener in the QeA Trophy last season.

My original choice of word was different which was edited by the mods. 'Negative' was the replacement word.

Anyways, Imam has been on the fringes for a while so it's hardly a surprise that he got a call up. I have issues with people referring it as nepotism..that alone puts a negative cloud on Imam and makes it seem like he wouldn't have made it had it not been for his uncle. That's all.

As far as sensibility is concerned...I don't expect it from Inzamam. He's had a few questionable selections already and seems like he picks players based on his liking.

 

[Abdullah719]

My original choice of word was different which was edited by the mods. 'Negative' was the replacement word.

Anyways, Imam has been on the fringes for a while so it's hardly a surprise that he got a call up. I have issues with people referring it as nepotism..that alone puts a negative cloud on Imam and makes it seem like he wouldn't have made it had it not been for his uncle. That's all.

As far as sensibility is concerned...I don't expect it from Inzamam. He's had a few questionable selections already and seems like he picks players based on his liking.

Yes, I don't agree with the nepotism angle either and that's not why I made this thread, though some may feel that way.

This is just another case of picking the wrong player for the wrong format.

 

[sshakir411]

Yes, I don't agree with the nepotism angle either and that's not why I made this thread, though some may feel that way.

This is just another case of picking the wrong player for the wrong format.

Inzi and most of our ex-players firmly believe in: if a player is good enough for tests then he will be good enough to adapt in LOIs.

I don't agree with it but I've heard this over and over again from Wasim, Waqar, Rashid, and Mushy to name a few.

 

[New Yorker]

He's the inverse of Sami Aslam, his erstwhile opening U-19 partner. Aslam was selected for Tests though his forte was clearly ODIs. He averaged 50 something in LA cricket for some time, and is still hovering around 48. Scored hundreds in his last two LA games, has a SR 87 compared to Imam's 74, and shown ability to adjust his game for more aggressive scoring, ironically, in light of how he bats Tests. So there are options also besides Sahibzada. I have nothing against Imam, I like him, and wish him well and hope to see him national colors. But this is the wrong selection, and it won't be made right if Imam does reasonably well or some such thing.

 

[Asif khan]

Lord help us if and when Fakhar gets out early.

 

[moghul]

Interesting question. Imam is better than Sami and should have been better picked for tests but even for ODI I have no serious problem on his selection but Umar Amin deserved ahead of him.

 

[kingusama92]

Imam ul Haq's first class and list averages are very similar. He doesn't deserve to be selected in any format!

Imam was the 3rd best runs producer last season in FC cricket.

Better than Fawad, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Salahuddin (who was picked in Tests!), and Salman Butt.

I wouldn't lean on the average too much.

BUT yes, there's legitimate questions about the format he's been selected in. This might be a case of not throwing a youngster into the hardest format from day one.

Usman, Haris, and Babar have started in ODIs before getting promoted. Same applies here.

 

[kingusama92]

And nepotism is a nasty word to throw out so easily.

The kid is a fantastic batsman.

This is no Arsel Sheikh.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Should have selected Amin instead.

 

[mak36]

Wrong format. Should be picked in tests. Happy for him to prove me wrong.

That said, those accusing Inzi of nepotism know very little. Inzi has actually held him back.

 

[Justcrazy]

Not good selection but now that he has been selected , he needs to grab this opportunity .

 

[QalandarFan]

Wow didn't know he had such a poor List A record. He's certainly worked hard to achieve it this level then props to Imam!