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[VIDEOS] Imam-ul-Haq - Essential or a liability in ODIs?

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Saj

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He's already dividing opinion.

An ODI average of 57.32 but a strike-rate of 81.00.

Some say he's good for Pakistan at the top of the order, others say he is just keeping the seat warm until Sharjeel Khan returns.

He says his role is to bat through the innings, some say that's needed, others say that isn't required in 2019.

His innings against England today was scratchy, with some good shots, some awful shots, quite a few plays and misses, solid defence, mixed in with a couple of excellent shots.

What do you make of Imam's role in ODIs. Is he essential or a liability?
 
A high avg like that with a stirke rate of 80 is good

Look, we have got Fakhar smacking it all around the ground, a player like IMam is needed with him.

Our goal in the first 10 overs should be simple. Get to 60 without losing a wicket, and as long as him and Fakahr doing that whats the issue?


Thing is he is seeing off the new ball and giving us a good start.

You have to look at the past performances of Pakistan when we had terrible openers at the start, where we would be left with a score of 20-3, 30-3.

Imam is playing well, there is no need to drop him. If so, then bring back Azhar in his place.
 
liability, when it matters most he comes short especially on the kind of pitches tournaments are played. His 150 against England was an anomaly.

All the best team have two openers who go hard, or at the very least play at a good rate. We need to look to do the same.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
liability, when it matters most he comes short especially on the kind of pitches tournaments are played. His 150 against England was an anomaly.

All the best team have two openers who go hard, or at the very least play at a good rate. We need to look to do the same.
Click to expand...

When we have got Asif ALi down the order and Malik aswell to accelerate, then why not focus on having a good start?

People make his 80 strike rate as if its a stirke rate of 60.
 
The worrying thing about him is he don't have any boundary scoring shots.

None at all.

There's only one - charge down the pitch against the pacers. And that is worrying for an opener in the modern ODI era.

I do not mind him playing slow in the start, if the situation demands.

However, he cannot accelerate because of the lack of shots.
 
You cannot have Malik, Imam and Sarfraz in the same line up.

2 at most. Three is an inning killer.
 
It can be infuriating at times watching him bat. So many twitches and proactivity yet just has one gear. 10 years ago he would have been perfect. Not today
 
Major said:
When we have got Asif ALi down the order and Malik aswell to accelerate, then why not focus on having a good start?

People make his 80 strike rate as if its a stirke rate of 60.
Click to expand...

Malik is far from reliable at the bottom and Asif is still new, besides that is still backward thinking.

For this tournmanet, we would be much better of playing with Babar or even Haris as an opener.

Lastly, Imam's strike rate is awful given that he bats in the powerplay. I think we have the worst record in the first 10 overs in terms of run rate,thats despite having Fahkar at one end, why do you think that is?
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
Malik is far from reliable at the bottom and Asif is still new, besides that is still backward thinking.

For this tournmanet, we would be much better of playing with Babar or even Haris as an opener.

Lastly, Imam's strike rate is awful given that he bats in the powerplay. I think we have the worst record in the first 10 overs in terms of run rate,thats despite having Fahkar at one end, why do you think that is?
Click to expand...

I hope you do remember the times when we would be 20-3.

If 60 could be achaived in the first 10 overs, isn't that good enough?
 
Major said:
I hope you do remember the times when we would be 20-3.

If 60 could be achaived in the first 10 overs, isn't that good enough?
Click to expand...

cant let fear of the past dictate getting on with the future. Many people were panicking when Misbah went, yet we clearly moved on and did better.

Today again was an exception, in general we get less then 45 in the first 10 with Imam. Plus i dont think opening with Babar and Haris is unsafe, but it will get more runs. For Haris in particular i think it would be great. He is techincally more solid than Imam, and is good stroke player
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
cant let fear of the past dictate getting on with the future. Many people were panicking when Misbah went, yet we clearly moved on and did better.

Today again was an exception, in general we get less then 45 in the first 10 with Imam. Plus i dont think opening with Babar and Haris is unsafe, but it will get more runs. For Haris in particular i think it would be great. He is techincally more solid than Imam, and is good stroke player
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oh well i disagree..

To me what matters is good starts. Getting 60 without the loss of wicket in the first 10 over, and the batsmen get his 50 at the strike rate of 80 doesnt do much harm to me.

Harris i think is too risky. Even harris has the same stirke rate as Imam, and his avg is low compared to him.

I believe there is nothing wrong in our openers, people are having a go at imam because he is related to Inzi

ANyways, agree to disagree
 
It's easy to point to a problem without proposing a solution.

Unless we have a Sharjeel Khan or someone of his caliber available to replace Imam, Imam should stay.
 
Batted at 75 SR, while every other of our batsmen batted at a SR of 90 or more. Also played out a maiden in the power plays. Only playing on family quota.
 
Honestly he's not much different than the player he's been preferred over: Azhar Ali. Imam is a good player but for our team he's a liability as it's one too many accumulators. I rather have Babar open with Haris as one down, both who are better accumulators, that way we can add another power hitter in the lower middle order.
 
He brings stability to the top order. Very consistent with his run scoring. Yes he is a bit slow but we don't have any other alternatives besides him. To balance things off Pakistan needs a heavy hitter in the middle order. To me, Sarfaraz and Malik are a big liability. They can't take on the pressure despite being the "seniors"
 
He's not a bad player but everyone knows he's in the team because of the post Inzi holds right now.
I also feel that his attitude will stop him from developing as a player and getting any better at batting at a good pace.
 
If he became a tad bit more consistent I converting his slow starts to 50s and 60s, I would say he is essential. He is very young, so he can be given a run in the hope he will improve and get better.
 
We need a dynamic opener like Sharjeel to partner fakhar or imam really needs to work on his hitting
 
When others score, his contribution looks valuable.

When they flop, he looks like a liability.

In essence, his worth is determined by how others perform.
 
At the moment there are not a lot of alternative options for the Pakistan opening slot.
Neither Imam or Fakhar looked comfortable at all when faced with the variations from Woakes or Archer today.
We got away with a reasonable score today.
But it is Trent Bridge and England are favourites to chase this down.
 
Was a liability today. Completely choked the flow of runs, and saw our run rate to fall from 7+ to 5.5. We may have made 370+ today if it wasn't for him.
 
No problem he will groom . You guys did not remember perhaps but I have seen Rahul Dravid earlier career , he had too many problems placing the shots and making 4s and 6s shots, however later he had become the THE WALL in the great Indian bating line up. With Pakistan's history's shacky top order, I think we need Imam / Fakhar combo as a perfect solution. Don't worry he will get better days to come.
 
Unfortunately he isnt fluent enough as a batsman. There is no fluent swing of the bat. Compare this with Babar who just times them so well. Its simply lack of talent in terms of stroke play. He is a pure grafter and to be honest, such a player can cause lots of issues in high run chases especially.
 
Does he have the shots that all the modern openers posses. I am talking about cover drive , square drives, cut shots and on drives ???
I have never seen him get on top of the ball and hit that through the off side. Is that what an ODI opener looks like ?

The answer is NO.
 
Good, solid player but not a dynamic player. Million dollar question is can he improve on this? It looks like his only release shot is the advance for 6 against pacers.
 
cricguru said:
No problem he will groom . You guys did not remember perhaps but I have seen Rahul Dravid earlier career , he had too many problems placing the shots and making 4s and 6s shots, however later he had become the THE WALL in the great Indian bating line up. With Pakistan's history's shacky top order, I think we need Imam / Fakhar combo as a perfect solution. Don't worry he will get better days to come.
Click to expand...

Bhai jaan Rahul Dravid played in an era when if a side made 300 then win was 75% certain. Now a days 300 is bare minimum.
 
I think there is too much unnecessary criticism thrown at him. His strike is fine for an opener who is building the foundation for an innings

he can play on a more difficult seaming pitch as well.

however, all his recent scores were on flat pitches. even south africa tour had relatively flat pitches
 
This is a 50 over game not T20. What good does it do of 200 allout in 15 overs? 200 in 15 overs is impressive I would give you that.

Pak folds today within 250, without his 80 SR platform innings seeing the shine off and not getting Archer a leg up.
 
Amazing by our standards.. a must in the 11 unless he fails in few games in a row.. I think his strike rate will improve as he goes but if Sharjeel is back then he should be benched
 
Neither he is essential nor he is liability. He is someone like kallis or dravid, who can help in wins but not a match winner.
 
He's good. His innings today was bad though, no doubt about it.
 
I would rather open with Harris unless he improves his game post PP overs. Needa to rotate strike more and find boundaries without taking too much risk.
 
Reminds me of Doritos mixed bag:- Tangy Cheese, Cool Original or Chili Heatwave....
 
Liability, add to fact he doesnt have the shots or the game to pull back his inns later on by scoring fast. If he wasnt inzis nephew he wouldnt be playing, simple as that.

Look how quickly england are scoring early on.
 
A massive liability. As long as he is on the crease, the opposition is in the driving seat.
 
Another problem is, unlike other openers who start slowly, he cannot accelerate because he is an absolute dud when it comes to hitting the big shots.
 
and people ready to accept Sharjeel Khan again..? then why not Add or Salman Butt?
 
I have criticised his weakness against short bowling, he's ended up on the deck a few times, but if he can avoid getting drawn into playing bouncers, he's worth his place. He's not naturally gifted, but he's well organised and usually gives Pakistan a good start. You can't really argue with that, it's his primary job.
 
Imam is actually essentiall for Pakistan he Keep the wicket and doesn't give ot away.
He is Evolving Imroving and has passion to become the best Pakistan BATSMAN.
I will back him over any other Pakistani opener Except Fakhar or babar of course
 
Amjid Javed said:
Liability, add to fact he doesnt have the shots or the game to pull back his inns later on by scoring fast. If he wasnt inzis nephew he wouldnt be playing, simple as that.

Look how quickly england are scoring early on.
Click to expand...
Yes Pakistan score 60/0 in 8 overs
And England score 54/1 in 8 overs

We are a minnow team and Imam is essential for us
 
Mujtaba2900 said:
Imam is actually essentiall for Pakistan he Keep the wicket and doesn't give ot away.
He is Evolving Imroving and has passion to become the best Pakistan BATSMAN.
I will back him over any other Pakistani opener Except Fakhar or babar of course
Click to expand...

I think he's a better batsman than Fakhar to be honest. Fakhar's scoring shots are all high risk and he needs a bit of luck to make a score.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I think he's a better batsman than Fakhar to be honest. Fakhar's scoring shots are all high risk and he needs a bit of luck to make a score.
Click to expand...
No Doubt he is better then fakhar but Fakhar provides that extra Bit of Excitement and start like munro Did for Newzeland in the past he Might not be consistent but he give a good Start
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I think he's a better batsman than Fakhar to be honest. Fakhar's scoring shots are all high risk and he needs a bit of luck to make a score.
Click to expand...

Actually Fakhar's recent lack of consistency has everything to do with unnecessary pressure built by Imam by the latter's inability to rotate the strike and on top of it hogging all the balls in the power play, where Imam plays out maidens or 5 dot balls and single off last ball to farm the strike.

Its quite frustrating for Fakhar to be waiting from the end only to be given one or two balls per over.

As limited a player as Azhar Ali was, at least he could rotate the strike and his partnership with Fakhar was very effective.
 
Zhasan said:
Actually Fakhar's recent lack of consistency has everything to do with unnecessary pressure built by Imam by the latter's inability to rotate the strike and on top of it hogging all the balls in the power play, where Imam plays out maidens or 5 dot balls and single off last ball to farm the strike.

Its quite frustrating for Fakhar to be waiting from the end only to be given one or two balls per over.

As limited a player as Azhar Ali was, at least he could rotate the strike and his partnership with Fakhar was very effective.
Click to expand...

I think it's a lot to do with Azhar being right handed. Hence Fakhar had more freedom.
 
42.1 over, Jos Butler drivers it into the ground in extra cover, Imam ul Haq is slow to reach the ball, and 2 runs.

This guy is pathetic as a fielder. Very poor.
 
He provides some stability as he sees of new ball and considering the middle order against the newish ball, its his role is somewhat vital.
 
Rayyman said:
Left-left combo works. Australia won 3 WCs with it.
Click to expand...

It's definitely an advantage and it's become increasingly important these days, probably because video review footage and analysis is improving. Especially if we're playing with batsmen who struggle early on. With Australia, doesn't matter with that team. Even Australia are looking to implement left-right these days. Which 3 cups was it too? Gilchrist had a number of different opening partners for WC, including right handers in Watson and Waugh.
 
Super essential! People need to stop overthinking about and discussing the top order. It is in good shape right now. We actually get solid starts consistently unlike ever before alhamdulillah! Imam's role is vital to building a foundation.

He's no Sharjeel, but he's no Azhar Ali or Shehzad either. The former can play quick but get out early, the latter two play slow and get out early as well. Someone like Imam is needed.
 
Good batsman but not the ideal one to open with Fakhar.

I always have said have Fakhar and Babar open the innings. If Imam is such a good batsman then he can come in at no.3

Fakhar is an explosive batsman, Babar plays his shots too and rotates well both won't put pressure on the other.
Imam is creating unsure unrequired pressure for Fakhar at the other end which then results in a silly shot and out.
 
Saj said:
He's already dividing opinion.

An ODI average of 57.32 but a strike-rate of 81.00.

Some say he's good for Pakistan at the top of the order, others say he is just keeping the seat warm until Sharjeel Khan returns.

He says his role is to bat through the innings, some say that's needed, others say that isn't required in 2019.

His innings against England today was scratchy, with some good shots, some awful shots, quite a few plays and misses, solid defence, mixed in with a couple of excellent shots.

What do you make of Imam's role in ODIs. Is he essential or a liability?
Click to expand...

We should not put too many expectations on Sharjeel. He will not be the same Sharjeel after a long absence from active cricket. He is already 29 and was not the fittest cricket ever played for Pakistan before the ban.
 
Fakhar's inning today was uglier than Imam's today. Fakhar looked to get out at each delivery he played. Imam looked solid. We had almost 70 runs after 10 overs today, what else we should expect ?
 
People really not getting the importance of imam abd babar
Imam always provides solid opining to Pakistan . Babar Provides Stability at No 3 that's the only reason We Are Crossing 300 marks no doubt pitches are Easier to bat but They Did it in SouthAfrica and now 4 time in a span of 6 matches.
Sharjeel has no place in the team .
 
Better to invest in imam who has been decent compared to who we've had before.

And people who r waiting for shaejeel r delusional.
Ask yourself a question is he still fit? Was he ever fit?

His career is done and dusted.

Imam can be invested in hes young and is consistent.
He will get better, because he has to prove the doubters wrong.

I was a hater before. But hes done well
 
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I’m still on the fence about Imam as a batsmen but I will say.. I was thoroughly impressed with his performance as a fielder today against England. He was giving it his all and that’s the kind of determination that will win us matches.
 
Imam is a very limited player. He wastes the powerplay by playing so many dot balls. He puts alot of pressure on fakhar to score boundaries, so that the powerplay is not wasted. If haris was fitter and more determined, he should take imam place but hes not. Haris is also a terrible fielder whereas imam is a livewire.
I maintain that asif should open with fakhar . Imam can come at 3 and push everone down one. This would solve the powerplay issue and also asif is wasted coming at 6, with the extra boundary fielders, he keeps getting out on the boundary. If he opens, he will score loads of 6s , take pressure of fakhar, who can then bat deep,
 
You can have one of such batter in your XI. Cannot have more than one of such a player.
 
ads101 said:
It's definitely an advantage and it's become increasingly important these days, probably because video review footage and analysis is improving. Especially if we're playing with batsmen who struggle early on. With Australia, doesn't matter with that team. Even Australia are looking to implement left-right these days. Which 3 cups was it too? Gilchrist had a number of different opening partners for WC, including right handers in Watson and Waugh.
Click to expand...

Gilchrist-Hayden was the regular combo.

India won the WC with this Top 6
Sachin R
Sehwag R
Gambhir L
Yuvraj L
Dhoni R
Kohli R

I myself would prefer a right-left combo but other than Shehzad there are no good right handed openers.

Babar is best at 3 because he gets bogged down in the powerplay vs pace whole he can rotate the strike freely at 100 SR against spin. He averages 40~ vs pace and 60~ vs spin.

Imam struggles to rotate strike and his mechanical technique is mainly suited for blunting the new ball. That's his role.

Fakhar plays too many dot balls vs spinners and likes pace on the ball as seen by his records in UAE vs outside Asia. Moving him down will make it worse. His average is 50~ vs pace and 30~ vs spin.

I think Pak's Top 4 is fine. It's that lower-middle order that needs to be sorted out because right now they are just trying things, but there needs to be a set lineup.
 
I think he played a pretty good knock. He was run a ball to start with & if you're openers can get you 50-100 run starts at RR of 6 then you have a great platform.

Zaman is the thrasher, Imam plays more solidly but he was by no means slow. This is 50 over cricket. He was essential in getting your team to 350 and does that consistently.

Your other openers in recent past have been rubbish. This guy can at least do a job.

I'd keep him in the team, of the three games in this WC that have been close & involved both teams posting 300+ scores EVERY winning team has had a player in the top 3 who has made a 50-80 type score at a run rate of 80 or so.

I don't get the hate of this guy. Without him doing this job you have Sarfraz & Hafeez coming in early & they are simply NOT capable of copying with that.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Imam is about essential as a shotgun to the head is. :facepalm:
Click to expand...

We got 70/0 in power play, what do you think we need 150/0 in the power play?

Who is Imam replacement in Pakistan ?
Shahzad, Khuram, Salman Butt, Azhar, Sami Aslam, Ramiz Raja jr, Khuram Shehzad, Awais hack zia, Sahebzad Farhan or someone else ?
 
Imam is doing just fine. Apart from Babar azam all other batsmen in the team have same caliber with different playing style and approach to the game. Fakhar/Hafeez/Malik/Sarfraz
 
If we had Sharjeel with Fakhar we would be excellent, Imam blocking away creates pressure. Saying that we don't have anyone else
 
To me, he is a liability. He doesnt know how to rotate strike and find boundaries in the gaps without taking too much risk. One thing I noticed, he is also not very good in fielding and he is young. I would simply go for any other player
 
Rayyman said:
Gilchrist-Hayden was the regular combo.

India won the WC with this Top 6
Sachin R
Sehwag R
Gambhir L
Yuvraj L
Dhoni R
Kohli R

I myself would prefer a right-left combo but other than Shehzad there are no good right handed openers.

Babar is best at 3 because he gets bogged down in the powerplay vs pace whole he can rotate the strike freely at 100 SR against spin. He averages 40~ vs pace and 60~ vs spin.

Imam struggles to rotate strike and his mechanical technique is mainly suited for blunting the new ball. That's his role.

Fakhar plays too many dot balls vs spinners and likes pace on the ball as seen by his records in UAE vs outside Asia. Moving him down will make it worse. His average is 50~ vs pace and 30~ vs spin.

I think Pak's Top 4 is fine. It's that lower-middle order that needs to be sorted out because right now they are just trying things, but there needs to be a set lineup.
Click to expand...

I think you are not watching Babar azam Game Regularly . People have this stereotype about babar azam ability ti strike.
Babar dominates Powerplay If He He opens the Batting even if one wicket is down he still plays aggressivt In Powerplay Your Analysis is as bogus as it gets.
Imam is solid Opener .
Fakhar has problem with spin when its turning otherwise he is fine .
Averge doesn't tell if you play pace better or not
Babar Plays pace better then any other Pakistani BATSMAN .
 
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He at least needs to rotate strike. He builds up too much pressure. Fakhar hits a few boundaries and Imam blocks the next over. This brings the run rate down. He needs to take singles which he just can’t. That’s because he has no shots other than the dab to third man. If he could even score at a SR of 85 in the first 10 overs, it would be okay. But he has the lowest SR amongst openers in the first 10 overs. His tuk tuk puts pressure on Fakhar.
 
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