[VIDEO] "I was an automatic selection for the World Cup" : Imam-ul-Haq

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Imam-ul-Haq speaking to the media:

"Its a dream of any player to represent Pakistan in a World Cup, and I am doing that so obviously it is a great honour for me"

"Being in the Pakistan side for almost a year and a half means that there is more pressure on me due to added responsibility to help the side to victory"

Question : Pakistan side has always had the issue that our opening has not been good, and with such a big event coming up, what will be our strategy?

Imam: "Sir, for the past one and a half year, Fakhar Zaman's average is 56 and mine is 55 so that answers your question"

Next question:

Imam : "My average is 56 [said 55 before] and since I have debuted for Pakistan, I have been their top-scorer in ODIs so Alhamdulillah, I was an automatic selection, so I dont think they [selectors] had any pressure, the media did put some pressure but in my view, they were clear on this"


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I must say I was surprised at how arrogant Imam Ul Haq is. I even watch interviews with Kohli etc. Batsman that has done so well, but hardly same level of arrogancy.

 

[as-95]

Pathetic response from Imam. Average is not the be all and end all. He has failed in overseas conditions, failed to rotate strike and has a poor strike rate.

It’s a shame that he thinks that an average which was inflated by minnow bashing justifies his selection.

 

[Gullycricket]

Whats so arrogant about it.I would say its good we now have such players.Bored of Management gave me confidence,kaptaan aur koach ka shukur hai.
Btw its nothing compared to Kohli who has sataments like "I dont respect Johnson",telling a fan to move out of India if he didnt like Indian players,abusing etc.So chill and enjoy

 

[PakSarZameen]

Guy is more arrogant than the likes of Shehzad

 

[hisham_ashraf]

Should have answered it in a better way.Poor answer for sure.Fakhar handled the question well but even the questions asked by the journalist were quite poor.I mean she kept on asking to Shoaib Malik that loug Aap se naraaz hai.
I will not defined Imam but I guess he responded it in such a way because he is quite annoyed with the questions over his selection and nepotism.

 

[Green Patriot]

Lord Imam somebody would think you are ATG legend.

 

[moghul]

Pathetic interviewers, they don;t know they have to bring mic to them while asking questions.

 

[Red Devil]

Reading the title, I thought he said something very rude or disrespectful.

This is, at worst, just a bit of overconfidence. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[khan_aa]

He was obviously annoyed at the questions

 

[JattMaula]

Whats so arrogant about it.I would say its good we now have such players.Bored of Management gave me confidence,kaptaan aur koach ka shukur hai.
Btw its nothing compared to Kohli who has sataments like "I dont respect Johnson",telling a fan to move out of India if he didnt like Indian players,abusing etc.So chill and enjoy

This. Our kaptaap is FTB, choker and minnow basher and is still carries himself like he runs cricket world.

 

[wasimjunior]

Whats so arrogant about it.I would say its good we now have such players.Bored of Management gave me confidence,kaptaan aur koach ka shukur hai.
Btw its nothing compared to Kohli who has sataments like "I dont respect Johnson",telling a fan to move out of India if he didnt like Indian players,abusing etc.So chill and enjoy

Well said. Much rather have this attitude than “I want to hug sacbin” abid ali types.

 

[khan_aa]

This. Our kaptaap is FTB, choker and minnow basher and is still carries himself like he runs cricket world.

whats FTB?

 

[moghul]

Imam got some serious attitude problem. He has established himself now, but only due to long rope he was given by his uncle.

Very impressed with Malik again, handled that idiotic question ( log aap se naraz hein ) very well, anyone cold have lost temper on that.

 

[Red Devil]

Imam got some serious attitude problem. He has established himself now, but only due to long rope he was given by his uncle.

Not really, the guy scored a ton on his debut and since then has scored 5 hundreds and 5 fifties in 20 odd games.

 

[JattMaula]

whats FTB?

That's is 'Flat track bully'.

 

[MenInG]

A bit much from Imam - PCB need to advise him better

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imam-ul-Haq "My average is 55 in ODIs" "My average is 56"<br>"I was an automatic selection" <br>(Video courtesy UrduPoint)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/eEzz3l4PHS">pic.twitter.com/eEzz3l4PHS</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1119993380208021504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[Boi]

Forever giving selfie vibes.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Guy is more arrogant than the likes of Shehzad

No one can beat Shehzad.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

A bit much from Imam - PCB need to advise him better

Yea all the players need some media training to avoid these situations.

 

[fasihulhaq94]

nice intent from Imam. He was an automatic selection and said it himself.

no need for tameezdar 'kaptaan coach ka shukarguzar' types anymore

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imam-ul-Haq "My average is 55 in ODIs and that answers your question. I was an automatic selection for the World Cup" <br>(Video courtesy UrduPoint)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/f9wo6nVQsC">pic.twitter.com/f9wo6nVQsC</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1119997774559420416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Rana]

Automatic selection???

If India can drop Dravid and later Ganguly to enhance the strength of their limited overs side then who does this guy think he is?

 

[SensiblePakFan]

He complains about media and then says stuff like this out of inherent anger lmao, making things worse

 

[aloo paratha]

Hate his arrogance.

 

[moghul]

"I'm automatic selection" thanks to chachu.

 

[NauV]

I have 2 issues with this:

1. He has let the media talk and all the controversy get to him . . and every time he faces the camera, there's a bit of vengeance in his statements . . He will be well advised to know, he will never win against the media . . They will always talk . . they will always have friends and enemies . . they will always be driven by their own interests! This only harms him . . If you average 55, keep it up! Keep it going . . keep it that high after the world cup . . or for the next year . . and after!

2. This puts so much pressure on him! The moment he doesn't perform, this will come back to haunt him . . He will make more enemies than friends . . Media is ruthless! And even mild success would be framed as failures!

He needs to calm down and not worry about his critics . . and focus on his batting! His media handling is quite poor!

 

[Hawkeye]

Will be brought back to earth soon.

Can't play the modern ODI or T20 game.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Imam, take a chill pill bro.

 

[Rana]

Will be brought back to earth soon.

Can't play the modern ODI or T20 game.

According to some experts here he is the best we have in a world of dud openers.

Inflated averages of 55 and 56 because of Zimbabwe c team smashing will probably see them end up with an average of 40+ at the end of their careers.

 

[TeamPak95]

lol Imam needs to dial it down a bit, but at the same time these journalists man.. you might as well ask Imam "Do you see yourself as a ******** player??"

 

[The_Odd_One]

Living in denial is not healthy.

Imam spoke the bitter truth. He has been Pakistan's most prolific scorer in ODIs. He is an automatic selection for the world cup. Imam is not going anywhere and will be most likely the future captain of Pakistani team.

 

[Muhammad10]

Living in denial is not healthy.

Imam spoke the bitter truth. He has been Pakistan's most prolific scorer in ODIs. He is an automatic selection for the world cup. Imam is not going anywhere and will be most likely the future captain of Pakistani team.

Well said. People desperately avoid the inconvenient truth regarding him being one of our top ODI performers throughout his young career and behave as though he is keeping the likes of Roy, Bairstow or Warner out of the team.

 

[Chokli]

what is with all of these player interviews coming out one after another?

jeez these players seriously need someone to educate them on what to say and what not to say

that average is going to come crashing down

 

[Abdullah719]

what is with all of these player interviews coming out one after another?

jeez these players seriously need someone to educate them on what to say and what not to say

that average is going to come crashing down

PCB allowed the players to take part in a mixed-zone activity for the past 2 days. Half the squad on Saturday, half on Sunday. Basically media get to speak to different players at the same time but it's not an exclusive type thing as it's all done in an open area.

Today (Monday) will be the captain's and coach's pressers. Tuesday departure.

 

[Saj]

A bit much from Imam - PCB need to advise him better

PCB were stood right next to him when he gave these answers

 

[Chokli]

Watched that video, good grief the amount of unwarranted arrogance.
[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION]

 

[Dr_Bassim]

He may be right but the comment was needless.

You have been selected, you know you are averaging 55, just smile and say "I hope can I perform even better".

 

[topspin]

Watched that video, good grief the amount of unwarranted arrogance.
[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION]

Just watched it now - I get he's been bashed by the media (since it was a nepotistic selection), however the arrogance here is not healthy and is not warranted.

If I was in his shoes, I'd think all my achievements to date for Pakistan is all irrelevant if I can't win the WC for my side.

Furthermore he is NOT an automatic selection (if this was on the basis of meritocracy as opposed to nepotism) and I say that because Abid Ali along with Fakhar may outperform him in the ODI series coming up and subsequently establish themselves as the opening pair going into the WC. Not to forget Abid looks a far superior batsman but before I draw conclusions on that, I want to see what he can do on faster paced wickets outside Asia.

It's going to be interesting to see who misses out from the trio of openers.

 

[Mamoon]

Well it was arrogant, but I still prefer this attitude to the usual “first of all I would like to thank my seniors and my coaches for showing confidence in me” bla bla rubbish.

It is kind of refreshing, but he could have answered it without being rude to the reporter.

 

[gazza619]

I dont care if he is arrogant, bad neighbour, disobedient son, naive nephew etc..

...as long as he scores runs as per team requirement and is a good ambassador...

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Abid is a better batsman than you so watch out!

 

[Chokli]

I dont care if he is arrogant, bad neighbour, disobedient son, naive nephew etc..

...as long as he scores runs as per team requirement and is a good ambassador...

How exactly would a bad neighbour, disobedient son, naive nephew etc... be a good ambassador of anything?

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Just watched the video in Urdu (as in translation you dont get the tone and actual meaning imo) and i think Imam was a bit rude here. Also he forgot to mention his SR in powerplays where he usually struggles to score quick and put pressure on his partners.

 

[Chokli]

Just watched the video in Urdu (as in translation you dont get the tone and actual meaning imo) and i think Imam was a bit rude here. Also he forgot to mention his SR in powerplays where he usually struggles to score quick and put pressure on his partners.

"Likin meri average 56, Fakhar ki 55, aur kuch?"

 

[hadi123]

When I first read the transcript, I didn't think much of it, I thought that it just made sense in the given context and could not be seen as arrogant. But after seeing the video, it was very rude of him and that wasn't necessary, if he flops in the WC this will look awkward. I think this is a result of people such as [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] calling him a nepostic selection, so he just wants to prove he has his place on merit (which he definitely does, his place wasn't in doubt as he's been super consistent). Let's see how he does.

 

[Hasan123]

I can understand why he is annoyed. People are saying his selection was due to Inzi being his nephew. Yet he is scoring runs.

I don't think he needed to say at the end "that answers your question " . He shouldn't be taking his anger out on reporters. He should let his bat do the talking. He should have said I have been playing well and I hope to show critics why I should be in the team at the WC.

 

[gazza619]

I can understand why he is annoyed. People are saying his selection was due to Inzi being his nephew. Yet he is scoring runs.

I don't think he needed to say at the end "that answers your question " . He shouldn't be taking his anger out on reporters. He should let his bat do the talking. He should have said I have been playing well and I hope to show critics why I should be in the team at the WC.

I agree but I think he has had enough.

For me there is only one solution to this. Inzi should quit from selection committee.

 

[Mueez]

Arrogant, but Pakistan needs more players with an attitude like him, who are confident and are no mental-midgets.

 

[Hasan123]

I agree but I think he has had enough.

For me there is only one solution to this. Inzi should quit from selection committee.

His selection was due to Inzi being his uncle but he has done well with the chance he has been given.

Inzi needs to be sacked no doubt.

 

[CricketDon]

Honestly never wanted someone to fail so bad in my life. Only in the side because of uncle Inzi. He’s the greatest minnow bashes I’ve ever witnessed.

Please bring back shezad over him.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Imam keeps triggering the haters. Good on him.

 

[light]

Not sure who to take a shot at, Imam's arrogance or the Journalist for asking ******** questions ... desi journalism at it's best lol.

 

[light]

Arrogant, but Pakistan needs more players with an attitude like him, who are confident and are no mental-midgets.

This mental attitude could also play as a double edge sword before a big tournament like this. If it was a regular bilateral series, sure go ahead. Pump up the media as much as you can, but going into the WC, all eyes are on you, even from other country men. A fail there will put added pressure on his shoulder for no reason. That will also trigger media to go nuts on him about his AVG, fans will go berserk, you get the picture.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

Well, he was goaded into by the journo who was a bit aggro...what he has done bad is put pressure on himself....he better score big runs and score them quick..

 

[Tyler Durden]

How is that arrogant? what's wrong in speaking about his average and accomplishments that led him to be the automatic selection in WC? Nothing wrong with his answer, in fact I feel happy that he's boasting about his average and he's entitled to too! I like this lad's confidence in interviews! He speaks better than Bobbies and Sarfarazs for sure!

 

[PakPremi]

Having seen the video and reading this thread instead of Imam I find the posters arrogant making a mountain out of molehill. It appears the fans and media have a problem with all the players statement, nice way of supporting the team.

 

[uberkoen]

I'd like to see Abid Ali given a chance in the England series as well to see what he can bring to the team. Imam is a decent player but plays way too slow

 

[Major]

He is right.

He was being realistic.

Dont know why the posters here are crying. He avgs 55, he was an automatic selection.

WHat do you guys want him to say? Oh that he is greatul and how he slept the day before thinking he ont get selected and then he was surprised?

You have to be an idiot to drop an opener who is avging 55 or 56.

 

[Major]

I dont care if he is arrogant, bad neighbour, disobedient son, naive nephew etc..

...as long as he scores runs as per team requirement and is a good ambassador...

THIS!

In the past this team sturggled to find good openers.

DOnt understand why Pakistani fans are more interested in the personality of a person and not his playing abilities.

Posters on this forum need to go watch NBA and NHL players.

 

[Mueez]

This mental attitude could also play as a double edge sword before a big tournament like this. If it was a regular bilateral series, sure go ahead. Pump up the media as much as you can, but going into the WC, all eyes are on you, even from other country men. A fail there will put added pressure on his shoulder for no reason. That will also trigger media to go nuts on him about his AVG, fans will go berserk, you get the picture.

Yeah I get it.

But still if he performs he knows what he does.

So lets hope he performs.

 

[W63L35]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

 

[Hasan123]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

View attachment 90659

Our top 3 have been rubbish against decent teams and they have rubbish strike rates as well.

 

[Hawkeye]

Having seen the video and reading this thread instead of Imam I find the posters arrogant making a mountain out of molehill. It appears the fans and media have a problem with all the players statement, nice way of supporting the team.

I'm confident that you're a PCB spokesperson.

Try to do some objective analysis too some day, where criticism of bad things is a key part!

It's not about all love love and 'critics are haters'.

 

[Hawkeye]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

View attachment 90659

Good to see you back!

Reminds me of our Misbah era days and your stats.

Here though, you are spot on.

I love arrogance in a player, but only if he or she has something to back it up with.

 

[as-95]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

View attachment 90659

Good post... as I said, Miami's average is inflated by playing scoring against minnows and yet he still maintains a pathetically low strike rate.

Good to see the statsguru back on the forum by the way

 

[Cric1234]

Minnow bashing Imam exposed a strike rate of 75 in the last few years is similar to a strike rate of 70 10-15 years ago simply not good enough.
His strike rate in the UAE is 71 contributing nicely to most of the matches lost with slow starts but he's confident and arrogant only on the mic plays like a meek mental midget in the middle.

 

[Cric1234]

Imam
Babar
Haris
Malik
Hafeez

That's a lineup who will make below par scores consistently the team needs more aggressive batsmen up top 3 of the top 6 should have strike rates over 90 in the modern era.

 

[Green Patriot]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

View attachment 90659

Those are some mediocre stats.
All 3 of them,even Babar which is honestly a surprise to me.

More importantly their attitude in regards to their averages and areas of improvement is what is more alarming.
Reality check incoming.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Those are some mediocre stats.
All 3 of them,even Babar which is honestly a surprise to me.

More importantly their attitude in regards to their averages and areas of improvement is what is more alarming.
Reality check incoming.

Don't you think that reality check happened in the asia cup?

 

[Green Patriot]

Don't you think that reality check happened in the asia cup?

Apparently not.

 

[Snowflake]

Much better than "Jee dekhein ye toh aap selectors se poochein k unho nay mujhe kyun select kiya."

Those who are calling him arrogant are probably either softies themselves or have gotten used to this submissive behavior that has festered in this team in the past decade.

Also, there's only so much hate and insult that a human being can take. Imam has been subjected to all sorts of humiliation by the media and he has every right to fight back.

Calling someone sifaarshi and asking questions which are actually sly digs deserve such a response.

 

[The_Odd_One]

More Imam is selected by Inzimam, more respect I have for Majid Khan and Javid Miandad. Both were in a position to get Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal selected way more than they did but they did not.

Inzimam has totally disappointed in selecting Imam ul Haq over and over again. He has worst S/R among all ODI batsmen since his debut against major teams. Average is pathetic also.

View attachment 90659

Imam is no world beater but he makes the mediocre Pakistani team on merit. He has outperformed all of his competitors. His competition is not with Buttler, De Kock, Sharma, etc. so these stats have no significance.

 

[MenInG]

has his work cutout in this match and in the series.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Shows how useless are these statistics.

Imam makes the team 100% on merit even before Babar and Fakhar who are turning out to be minnow bashers.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After 25 ODIs Imam-ul-Haq's average is 56.90.<br>He already has 5 100s.<br>He has also made 5 50s.<br>14 out of the 25 ODIs were against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and India.<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/1126191444681732102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[topspin]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After 25 ODIs Imam-ul-Haq's average is 56.90.<br>He already has 5 100s.<br>He has also made 5 50s.<br>14 out of the 25 ODIs were against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and India.<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/1126191444681732102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Against the top 5 (SENAI) this is how he fares:

Imam: Avg - 36.7 @ SR 71

 

[Zhasan]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After 25 ODIs Imam-ul-Haq's average is 56.90.<br>He already has 5 100s.<br>He has also made 5 50s.<br>14 out of the 25 ODIs were against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and India.<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/1126191444681732102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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And Pakistan lost most of those matches

 

[Ronaldo7]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After 25 ODIs Imam-ul-Haq's average is 56.90.<br>He already has 5 100s.<br>He has also made 5 50s.<br>14 out of the 25 ODIs were against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and India.<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/1126191444681732102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Come on. Stop manipulating the public. Just tell them how he fares against the SENA countries plus India instead of this. This makes it look like he's scored most of his runs against the SENA countries.

 

[Chokli]

Come on. Stop manipulating the public. Just tell them how he fares against the SENA countries plus India instead of this. This makes it look like he's scored most of his runs against the SENA countries.

Pakistan are a borderline minnow in ODI and Tests.

If Imam wasn't scoring against the minnow countries we probably would have lost.