[VIDEOS] Why does Imam-ul-Haq get so much criticism?

[Hamad_H]

Imam's ODI record:
12 Innings
Average of 67.6 at a SR of 84.92
Vs. Sri Lanka in UAE:
100 off 125 balls, 2 off 3 balls, 45* off 64 balls
Vs. NZ in NZ:
2 off 11 balls
Vs. Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe:
128 off 134 balls, 44 off 51 balls, 0 off 1 ball, 113 off 122 balls, 110 off 105 balls
Asia Cup:
50* off 69 balls vs. HK, 2 off 7 balls vs. India, 80 off 104 balls vs Afg.

To me, these stats do not justify the criticism he gets. People complain that his only runs come against "minnows" but he has only played 2 games out of 12 against "non-minnows" (NZ and India) and it was not only him who played poorly against these teams. He can only score against whoever is put in front of him.

People complain that he is too slow and we need a slogger to play with Zaman but truth be told, if a slogger opened instead of Imam, we may have been 5-2 after 2 overs and potentially collapse and crumble against Afg. and those same people would be complaining that we don't have players who can build an innings and have good temperament. People forget that 50 overs is actually quite a long time and it is important to make use of the full quota of overs effectively rather than slogging your way to a half-decent total after 40 overs.

I hope that today's innings, although it was not against the best side in the world, justified his spot in the team. Him and Babar controlled the tempo nicely and kept the runs ticking whilst they were there. They looked at ease with the situation where perhaps a different player may have felt a bit of pressure and become too defensive after Fakhar's wicket.

Perhaps people are so worried about nepotism (which is justifiable considering previous selections under other selectors) that they are over judging him. Is he being judged too harshly because he is Inzi's nephew? I think he deserves to be given time and more opportunities than what people are willing to give him, especially as he is only 22 years old.

 

[Mamoon]

Because of his surname. If his name was Imam Khan, Imam Ashraf or Imam Afridi, he would get less stick. Also, nepotism is okay as long as the right person has the right contacts. Imam might have bypassed a few candidates but so far he has justified his selection. That is all that matters.

 

[InziRules]

Because of his surname. If his name was Imam Khan, Imam Ashraf or Imam Afridi, he would get less stick. Also, nepotism is okay as long as the right person has the right contacts. Imam might have bypassed a few candidates but so far he has justified his selection. That is all that matters.

Not even that, but because there's this mythical opener in domestic who can average 60 with a S/R of 100+

 

[Usman Chadda]

Has too many flaws to succeed against quality opposition. Scored today, so well done to him. But at the end of the day, it's still another weak team.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Because of his surname. If his name was Imam Khan, Imam Ashraf or Imam Afridi, he would get less stick. Also, nepotism is okay as long as the right person has the right contacts. Imam might have bypassed a few candidates but so far he has justified his selection. That is all that matters.

Justified against minnows

 

[Hamad_H]

Justified against minnows

But how can you say this when he has barely played against non-minnows? He has only played 2 games against non-minnows and has 12 games to his name. People have been saying we might as well select Azhar Ali but he has played 50+ ODIs and is 10 years older so there is not much comparison.

 

[Hamad_H]

Has too many flaws to succeed against quality opposition. Scored today, so well done to him. But at the end of the day, it's still another weak team.

Same response to this as my response to YousafTheBeast. He can only score against teams put in front of him.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Same response to this as my response to YousafTheBeast. He can only score against teams put in front of him.

Lost his head against NZ in NZ and against India two days back. Don't think he has the game to do well against quality opposition, although I would love to be proven wrong.

 

[Shaka81]

Some people are desperate for him to fail. When he doesn't fail and scores runs when his teammates don't then it's dismissed as minnow bashing. The one time he failed, he's abused and they use it to justify why another player would be better.... even when it makes no sense i.e. play Haris as opener when he's a middle order batsman with nothing to back his credentials as an opener or a whole bunch of young openers with no performances to back them like Farhan. It's just a form of confirmation bias when it comes to judging Imam.
People just need to accept he's earned the opportunity to be in the team right now through his performances.

 

[Abdullah]

I feel quite calm chasing medium scores with the likes of him Babar n shady in the team.
Doing fine for me.
It wasn't like that a few years ago

 

[Abdullah]

And as world cup is in England he is good square of the wicket which we should bear in mind

 

[Hamad_H]

Lost his head against NZ in NZ and against India two days back. Don't think he has the game to do well against quality opposition, although I would love to be proven wrong.

Fair enough, I can kind of see what you mean but I feel other senior players did the same thing as him in these matches. Would you agree that he is the best player to open with Fakhar or do you think someone else should open and who?

 

[YousafTheBeast]

But how can you say this when he has barely played against non-minnows? He has only played 2 games against non-minnows and has 12 games to his name. People have been saying we might as well select Azhar Ali but he has played 50+ ODIs and is 10 years older so there is not much comparison.

If his strike rate against minnows is at 70-80 then it’s really not going to get any better against better quality bowlers!

 

[Titan24]

Valid thread, have said it multiple times that criticism on him is not fair especially after you realize he has scored more centuries than every other opener in the last decad and a half, except Shehzad and Butt and thats within 15 matches.

He is young, just 22, handles pressure well, have good game sense, hunger for runs and techniqally he is one of the best I have seen in recent times. His game looks like he was a big fan of Sanga, he shows glimpses of his style in some of his shots, even if he can become haLF as good as Sanga it would be amazing.

 

[Titan24]

Lost his head against NZ in NZ and against India two days back. Don't think he has the game to do well against quality opposition, although I would love to be proven wrong.

Come on man, he just played on match in NZ and one match against India. Is it fair to judge a player based on couple of matches and forget all other matches, I think not.

Let him play atleast 15 matches against top teams to conclude anything within that hypothesis.

 

[Titan24]

Valid thread, have said it multiple times that criticism on him is not fair especially after you realize he has scored more centuries than every other opener in the last decad and a half, except Shehzad and Butt and thats within 15 matches.

He is young, just 22, handles pressure well, have good game sense, hunger for runs and techniqally he is one of the best I have seen in recent times. His game looks like he was a big fan of Sanga, he shows glimpses of his style in some of his shots, even if he can become have as good as Sanga it would be amazing.

Meant half as good as Sanga.

 

[usmanraheel]

He definitely showed better intent today and match awareness. He seems to be good on the hook and rotated strike well. It will be good to see him carry on with the same attitude against harder opponents. Still dont like him yet though

 

[PakLFC]

He gets out to stupid shots and can't judge the situation. Today again much like his Uncle he ran himself out putting the team under pressure when we were going so well. There was never a single on. Lets remember although he played well the opposition was Afghanistan.

 

[Cric1234]

Is Farhat was selected against Zimbabwe who were fielding a hapless bowling attack he could've scored a couple of hundreds.
Imam will ride on that success for some time to come he did play well today again it's not a strong team Rashid Khan or Mujeeb apart but there will be a time he won't be dropped due to averaging over 40 and being Inzis nephew who will make sure he gets full backing.

 

[Saj]

There are elements of the Pak media who don't like Inzi so they take it out on his nephew who is an easy target for them.

Also some of those journos are on the payroll of some discarded players.

 

[Bewal Express]

Imam is a solid player but needs more shots to become an effective player in the ODI player in the long term.

 

[Pete Rose]

Because he bats like a mouse in general and we are waiting to see what he can do against the better teams. Early signs are not good. It’s been covered across multiple threads.

 

[We Bleed Green]

He is a perfect example of nepotism. Even if he performs very well, it does not remove the fact that he bypassed a lot of deserving players due to him being nephew of Inzamam.

He represents the nepotism in Pakistan cricket and he will always be hated for this. It would have been better if he had played some domestic cricket and performed better than others before getting selected but he jumped the queue and this sort of selection is the cancer of Pakistan cricket.

 

[Mute Witness]

Imam was selected not on his domestic stats, but rather on potential. He clearly has the work ethic, temperament, and talent to succeed. There may have been others with more experience and better stats but Imam has the higher ceiling. The coaching staff and the batting coach clearly rate him highly. And rightly so. The lad just does not throw starts away! At all. He makes them count. Which is a great quality for the guy who is supposed to set the foundation. And he's been doing that right from his debut. Totally justified selection in my eyes.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imam-ul-Haq "I'm learning from my mistakes. I was really disappointed with my shot in the previous match and I disappointed the fans. InshAllah we will win our next match" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/mHH3YliVWf">pic.twitter.com/mHH3YliVWf</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1043266910031437826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Hawkeye]

Like I said in other threads, people are calling for his head too early.

And guess what, that too after he posted probably the best ever figures by any opener in his first few matches. Hahaha.

People think we have a 50+ averaging opener in domestics who can strike at above 100.

Nope.

Currently he's the best we have and he will improve with time. Can work on his strike rate.

 

[Rana]

I like him a lot and I really feel bad for him considering he’s got the label attached to him of nepotism.

Not sure what more he can do? Maybe a 70 ball hundred should shut his haters up. His counter attack after Fakhar got out was brilliant and set the tone for a good chase

 

[hussain.r97]

He doesn't build his innings well and eats too many deliveries, that too against the lower level sides like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. I only hope he can improve, but currently, I think we have better options.

He's not a bad option on these tracks, but I don't have a good feeling about him in the World Cup. Even against Zimbabwe, we ended up 20-30 runs short of where we should have been in all three games, mainly because of Imam's start.

 

[blackanhyellow]

2 major reasons.

He will always live under his uncle's shadow, even if Inzi wasn't the Chief Selector people would still say Imam is only playing because he is Inzi's nephew.

Second reason is because t20 cricket has a lot to do with people's attitudes towards players with strike rates below 90. Imam is a singles and doubles type of player, where as people prefer to watch boundaries and big hitting.

Imam will never overcome these two things, so he will have to learn to deal with these types of criticisms through out his career.

 

[moghul]

Has too many flaws to succeed against quality opposition. Scored today, so well done to him. But at the end of the day, it's still another weak team.

You must be a professional coach somewhere , know so much about cricket, even more than Micky who keep playing Imam.

 

[moghul]

Again , he will end up as a Pakistan great in test and ODI and will be the captain someday.

 

[DRsohail]

He oaly d wel today but let the india game come,I am not expecting good from him against quality teams.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

How can u rate or unrate a player till he even gets enough chances against good teams??

I have kept quiet on Imam because so far he has plundered runs whenever the opposition is minnow but looked a little out of depth against big boys.

But sample is just too small at the moment.

Would wait till he performs or fails consistently against big guns before deciding.

 

[Usman Chadda]

You must be a professional coach somewhere , know so much about cricket, even more than Micky who keep playing Imam.

Mickey has got this one wrong IMO.

Come on man, he just played on match in NZ and one match against India. Is it fair to judge a player based on couple of matches and forget all other matches, I think not.

Let him play atleast 15 matches against top teams to conclude anything within that hypothesis.

It’s not about one match. It’s about the nature of his dismissals and what happened before that. In the NZ game, Boult was right into him and wouldn’t let him get away. Plays a rash shot and gets caught at square leg.

Kumar keeps him quiet, plays a nonsense shot and throws his wicket away. Add to that, the fact that he gets bogged down even if he’s had a decent start.

Fair enough, I can kind of see what you mean but I feel other senior players did the same thing as him in these matches. Would you agree that he is the best player to open with Fakhar or do you think someone else should open and who?

Haris Sohail could be a good option, provided he becomes a better fielder. There is no better player of proper swing/seam than Haris in our team and he needs to redevelop himself as an opener. Besides that, Sahibzada Farhan is also a good aggressive option.

 

[New Yorker]

He oaly d wel today but let the india game come,I am not expecting good from him against quality teams.

Because India or England has better bowlers than Rashid and Mujeeb?

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Because India or England has better bowlers than Rashid and Mujeeb?

Very subjective.

India may have slightly less better bowlers or England for that matter, but they are more experienced than Rashid or Mujeeb.

You make it sound like , Rashid is ATG and Mujeeb is ATG and Afghanistan was an ATG team and since he has done it against them, he has nothing to prove.

He may or may not do it, but it would be after that you can make comments like he has already proved himself in the big stage or he has done enough already.

 

[Madplayer]

I think ALL of us will unanimously agree that so far he Looks unconvincing at the crease even after scoring runs.

However, as of now i dont know what to make of him.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I think ALL of us will unanimously agree that so far he Looks unconvincing at the crease even after scoring runs.

However, as of now i dont know what to make of him.

Yup, needs more time.

The calls for him to be discarded are premature.

And similarly the calls for him to be hailed the next great batsmen are unfounded as well.

Give him time.

Sometimes you just can't predict how a career will go (aka Umar Akmal).

 

[Duckworth Lewis]

Got the feeling for the first time that he belongs to this level after the knock against Afghanistan. Also the knocks against Ireland in swinging conditions were good.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

He's bashed minnows but again, he played just 2 matches against top teams.

So he should be given more chances.

Remaining 2 (3 if you reach finals) in Asia Cup
All 3 against NZ
Atleast 3 (all 5 if he does well against NZ
and SA ) against SA


That's a decent run and then you can decide whether he's a good player or really a minnow basher.

One thing I like about him is, when he gets in, he bats big.

 

[angrypathan]

Very subjective.

India may have slightly less better bowlers or England for that matter, but they are more experienced than Rashid or Mujeeb.

You make it sound like , Rashid is ATG and Mujeeb is ATG and Afghanistan was an ATG team and since he has done it against them, he has nothing to prove.

He may or may not do it, but it would be after that you can make comments like he has already proved himself in the big stage or he has done enough already.

Not to mention the vastly better fielding and pace bowling attacks of India and England. Imam is far more likely to pierce the gaps and keep the scoreboard ticking against the weaker, more inexperienced teams regardless of the quality of their spinners

 

[Hawkeye]

How can u rate or unrate a player till he even gets enough chances against good teams??

I have kept quiet on Imam because so far he has plundered runs whenever the opposition is minnow but looked a little out of depth against big boys.

But sample is just too small at the moment.

Would wait till he performs or fails consistently against big guns before deciding.

The sample is 20 years of cricket for Don Shoaib Malik.

Yet he's loved on this forum and by the public. He can't even put bat on ball against pacers.

Imam is far more capable both technique and stroke play wise. You can only judge by what he has shown so far, which is promising.

Nobody's saying he's the next Kohli. But has good ingredients to succeed when given a long run.

 

[Fahdi]

He has some glaring flaws but much of the criticism is inspired by his surname.

He has done well against minnows but is yet to be tested against proper oppositions. To early to make any sort of judgement on him. Let him have 5 matches against good quality oppositions at least then we'll see.

 

[DRsohail]

Because India or England has better bowlers than Rashid and Mujeeb?

Overall their bowlers are better,and they exploit your weaknesses.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

He deserves more chances. Smith was the ugliest looking batsman at the beginning of his career. Anybody can improve in cricket.

 

[DRsohail]

Very subjective.

India may have slightly less better bowlers or England for that matter, but they are more experienced than Rashid or Mujeeb.

You make it sound like , Rashid is ATG and Mujeeb is ATG and Afghanistan was an ATG team and since he has done it against them, he has nothing to prove.

He may or may not do it, but it would be after that you can make comments like he has already proved himself in the big stage or he has done enough already.

like our fella does not know that England and India will know more about his weaker areas than imam himself knows and will exploit its. Wait and see.

 

[shaaik]

He gets out to stupid shots and can't judge the situation. Today again much like his Uncle he ran himself out putting the team under pressure when we were going so well. There was never a single on. Lets remember although he played well the opposition was Afghanistan.

Did you watch that run out ?? It was Babar who called him for a single, he didn't want to run but Babar kind of forced him.

 

[Abdullah]

He gets out to stupid shots and can't judge the situation. Today again much like his Uncle he ran himself out putting the team under pressure when we were going so well. There was never a single on. Lets remember although he played well the opposition was Afghanistan.

Boss at 0-1 I think most teams are coming unstuck in that same situation. I feared it yeah.
Rememeber this.

 

[Abdullah]

He is a perfect example of nepotism. Even if he performs very well, it does not remove the fact that he bypassed a lot of deserving players due to him being nephew of Inzamam.

He represents the nepotism in Pakistan cricket and he will always be hated for this. It would have been better if he had played some domestic cricket and performed better than others before getting selected but he jumped the queue and this sort of selection is the cancer of Pakistan cricket.

Which players has he bypassed?

 

[MeanAndGreen]

Mickey has got this one wrong IMO.


It’s not about one match. It’s about the nature of his dismissals and what happened before that. In the NZ game, Boult was right into him and wouldn’t let him get away. Plays a rash shot and gets caught at square leg.

Kumar keeps him quiet, plays a nonsense shot and throws his wicket away. Add to that, the fact that he gets bogged down even if he’s had a decent start.


Haris Sohail could be a good option, provided he becomes a better fielder. There is no better player of proper swing/seam than Haris in our team and he needs to redevelop himself as an opener. Besides that, Sahibzada Farhan is also a good aggressive option.

I like Haris, but Imam has already made more impact in a few months on the international scene than Haris has in his entire career. Not to mention, he looked a lot more comfortable than Haris on the tour of Ireland/England.

Farhan seems to be the toast of PP right now but from what I have seen of him in the PSL and domestic cricket, he has given no indication that he is an aggressive option. He has static footwork and struggles to rotate strike.

I get people dislike Imam because of the nepotism tag but there is a lot to like about him. Solid in the field, technically correct, can bat time, decisive footwork and a good runner between the wickets. Above all, in his short career he has been involved in 2 tense chases (against Ireland and Afghanistan), in which senior players were dismissed early (Fakhar in the ODI and Azhar, Haris, Asad in the Ireland game).

Yes , he has flaws that he needs to iron out but considering the quality of openers available right now in PAK, he is the best and I'm glad Mickey realises that.

 

[Ab Fan]

Pretty much every Pakistan batsmen performs against the likes of SL, Ban, Zim, Afg and other minnows.

He is just the same. A mediocre batsmen but shouldn't get enough criticism because pretty much every single batsmen Pakistan has currently is mediocre only.

The only one that carries some potential is Babar Azam but he is no AB de Villiers or Virat Kohli either.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

I can't believe people still think this guy doesn't merit selection.

This isn't an Arsal Sheikh situation FGS. This guy was an integral part of PAK U19 set up before his first class debut. He was fast-tracked into the PAK set up after some eye catching performances in domestic cricket and since then, he averages almost 70 in ODIs after 12 matches. As someone else has already said, if he was some poor kid from a village, he would be the toast of PP right now. Funnily enough, a lot of the people that are saying his innings against AFG was soft, are the same people who were saying PAK has no chance of chasing 260 at Abu Dhabi against "arguably the best spin attack in LOIs".

It remains to be seen how he performs against the best opposition chasing larger totals but one thing he has definitely shown so far is composure under pressure, which I haven't seen from any young opener in PAK for the better part of a decade.

Give Imam a break.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

Pretty much every Pakistan batsmen performs against the likes of SL, Ban, Zim, Afg and other minnows.

He is just the same. A mediocre batsmen but shouldn't get enough criticism because pretty much every single batsmen Pakistan has currently is mediocre only.

The only one that carries some potential is Babar Azam but he is no AB de Villiers or Virat Kohli either.

So if you are not Kohli or AB you're a mediocre batsman?

 

[Usman Chadda]

I like Haris, but Imam has already made more impact in a few months on the international scene than Haris has in his entire career. Not to mention, he looked a lot more comfortable than Haris on the tour of Ireland/England.

Farhan seems to be the toast of PP right now but from what I have seen of him in the PSL and domestic cricket, he has given no indication that he is an aggressive option. He has static footwork and struggles to rotate strike.

I get people dislike Imam because of the nepotism tag but there is a lot to like about him. Solid in the field, technically correct, can bat time, decisive footwork and a good runner between the wickets. Above all, in his short career he has been involved in 2 tense chases (against Ireland and Afghanistan), in which senior players were dismissed early (Fakhar in the ODI and Azhar, Haris, Asad in the Ireland game).

Yes , he has flaws that he needs to iron out but considering the quality of openers available right now in PAK, he is the best and I'm glad Mickey realises that.

I don’t have an issue with Imam’s parchee TBH. What I have an issue with is forward thinking and not realizing this lad will end up being another mediocre batsman like Hafeez or Malik in the long run. Imam just does not have the release shots against good, quality bowling. As a bowling team, you need a high quality quick bogging him down and then watch him throw his wicket away.

 

[Red Devil]

Afghanistan's bowling attack is hardly a minnow attack. They have a guy who's arguably the best bowler in the world right now lmao.

Imam obviously has his shortcomings but his ceiling is pretty high, he needs to be persisted with.

His temperament is tremendous, just needs to add more dynamism to his batting and considering he's only 22, there's no reason why he can't improve.

 

[Hasan123]

Once he has performed against the top teams we will know how good he is in LO. Just wait and see for now.

 

[Mamoon]

Very subjective.

India may have slightly less better bowlers or England for that matter, but they are more experienced than Rashid or Mujeeb.

You make it sound like , Rashid is ATG and Mujeeb is ATG and Afghanistan was an ATG team and since he has done it against them, he has nothing to prove.

He may or may not do it, but it would be after that you can make comments like he has already proved himself in the big stage or he has done enough already.

Hyperbole does not help anyone. Afghanistan is not an ATG team and does not have ATG players, but Rashid is a brilliant Limited Overs spinner who has foxed greats of the game like Kohli and de Villiers. He is a box of tricks and troubles every team he plays against.

Mujeeb is also very good. On a turning pitch while chasing a good total (a total that Afghanistan successfully defended againt Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ) in pretty much a must-win match, Imam exhibited a lot of composure and was clearly impressive.

Our fans have been baying for his blood since day one because his uncle is the Chief Selector, and Imam is clearly aware of the attitude of the fans and the criticism that he is unduly subjected to, yet he continues to score runs much to the annoyance of the said fans.

I think it is quite impressive that he has been able to block all the negative noise and is concentrating on scoring runs. Every run that he scores feels like a dagger to the hearts’ of the folks who have put a bounty on his head.

I don’t know if he will be found out in the future, and yes he clearly needs to pace his innings better, but he has been extraordinary prolific so far and looks very good and composed technically.

He is not keeping any superstar opener on the sidelines. Sahibzada seems to be the latest savior in town but there is a great chance that he too will be out of his depth at this level - most Pakistani players are.

There is zero justification for dropping Imam at this point because of what might happen in the long-term. When or if he starts flopping, by all means drop him.

He has been excellent so far. May he continue to his score runs and may his irrational critics to continue to pull their hair out of frustration.

 

[WengerOut]

Atleast he is young and has got time to improve. Not like Rayudu, who is average, not young and looks more a farmer at the crease

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Hyperbole does not help anyone. Afghanistan is not an ATG team and does not have ATG players, but Rashid is a brilliant Limited Overs spinner who has foxed greats of the game like Kohli and de Villiers. He is a box of tricks and troubles every team he plays against.

Mujeeb is also very good. On a turning pitch while chasing a good total (a total that Afghanistan successfully defended againt Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ) in pretty much a must-win match, Imam exhibited a lot of composure and was clearly impressive.

Our fans have been baying for his blood since day one because his uncle is the Chief Selector, and Imam is clearly aware of the attitude of the fans and the criticism that he is unduly subjected to, yet he continues to score runs much to the annoyance of the said fans.

I think it is quite impressive that he has been able to block all the negative noise and is concentrating on scoring runs. Every run that he scores feels like a dagger to the hearts’ of the folks who have put a bounty on his head.

I don’t know if he will be found out in the future, and yes he clearly needs to pace his innings better, but he has been extraordinary prolific so far and looks very good and composed technically.

He is not keeping any superstar opener on the sidelines. Sahibzada seems to be the latest savior in town but there is a great chance that he too will be out of his depth at this level - most Pakistani players are.

There is zero justification for dropping Imam at this point because of what might happen in the long-term. When or if he starts flopping, by all means drop him.

He has been excellent so far. May he continue to his score runs and may his irrational critics to continue to pull their hair out of frustration.

The pitch wasn't turning and Afghanistan spinners are more known for their accuracy than turn.

However, I give him full credit for scoring against Zimbabwe C and Afghanistan so far, as he can only score runs against what's put in front of him.

However to say he is amazing based on those performances is premature.

We have seen so many who came like this and went away starting from Umar Akmal to Nasir Jamshed and many other saviors who performed against much bigger teams rather than Zimbabwe C and Afghanistan and were then lost into oblivion.

If people are upset that he is someone's nephew or son, I couldn't care less because my issue with him is not nepotism.

He doesn't deserve to be dropped, its established already.

My only issue is the sample size is just too small against better teams to make a sound judgment of his abilities.

If someone believes Afghanistan and Zimbabwe C are good sample sizes, then that's that.

 

[Ab Fan]

So if you are not Kohli or AB you're a mediocre batsman?

No, I didnt said that. Seems you didnt got what I said. My point is pretty much every single Pakistan batsmen currently are mediocre or maybe above average.

Only one, i.e.,Babar Azam has got some potential and can be a very very good player but even he will be no kohli/AB.

With Babar, it is not about what he is now but what he can be in the coming years. So, he can be an excellent player but that is what we are basing on potentially.

So, no , you are not mediocre if you are no Kohli or AB.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I think it has got to do with the vast gap in ODIs and test batting now. Everyone is expected to bat at a rate of knots and strike at 100+ like English batting lineup. But that has also got to do with those highway pitches which allow them to bat like that. Atleast give him 15-20 games on proper flat decks against strong teams before throwing him out. Who is he holding back anyway?

 

[PakLFC]

Did you watch that run out ?? It was Babar who called him for a single, he didn't want to run but Babar kind of forced him.

Yes I did watch the march that is how I know. He should have yelled "no" to his partner if Babar called. Imam was not complaining when walking off that suggests it was his call.

 

[Pete Rose]

While I am not convinced that he has the ticker for playing the big occasion or the better attacks, I did enjoy his presser yesterday. Someone asked him about the shots he played early against Afghanistan vs. what he played to India. I thought he gave a promising response to that: after dispensing with the usual platitudes of learning from one's mistakes, he spoke about how he backs himself to play that shot and has done it before. Went to on state that he would play the same shot if in the same position again.
Fighting words....hopefully they reflect in the execution as well.

 

[MMHS]

Can’t tell about others but I don’t support his selection simply because his game doesn’t suit the format which was clearly evident from his domestic stats - 32/72 stats for 36 innings including in total 1 six in career. Now he is lucky that he has got 10 of his 12 innings against a hapless SRL, ZIM B, HK & AFG.

He is quite intelligent & gutsy player who has the temperament of staying cool even after several dots, which works fantastically against most of his opponents because of the quality of bowling & the hit me balls he received here & there. Two innings that he has played against teams above 8th rank, his total is average of may be 2 at SR of 20.

He is a good prospect for longer format for the core of his game and despite a poor FC stats as well, I have never questioned his selection there. Nothing personal here, but true that his name is called because of his family name, otherwise with that stats he won’t had been called for PCT.

I wish him all the best in coming ODI games against IND, BD & may be NZ.

 

[New Yorker]

Very subjective.

India may have slightly less better bowlers or England for that matter, but they are more experienced than Rashid or Mujeeb.

You make it sound like , Rashid is ATG and Mujeeb is ATG and Afghanistan was an ATG team and since he has done it against them, he has nothing to prove.

He may or may not do it, but it would be after that you can make comments like he has already proved himself in the big stage or he has done enough already.

Im not interested in arguing with someone who caricatures what I say. Please address yourself to what I actually wrote. I didn't say Rashid and Mujeeb are ATG I simply pointed out that there are no better spinners than these in LOI cricket today and I stand by this assessment. Nor did I claim that Imam has proved himself, I said that he is in the process of proving himself. Because he has begun playing against real quality attacks. We can never say how good a player he really is until he finally retires. But it makes no sense to remain stuck in this kind of Groundhog day argument about how Imam has not yet been tested when he actually is being tested. On spinning pitches Afghanistan has a real quality attack, that is incontestable. Not least because this attack is proving themselves against the best quality batting opposition in the world. Who plays spin better than the Asian nations? There is nothing wrong with wanting to see how he performs against quality pace, on pace friendly pitches, but you can't have it both ways. Those pitches won't support spin, so someone else will then argue that he hasn't faced good spin yet, on helpful pitches. Etc. Sure, time will tell, but it is no longer too soon to be able to say something about his ability.

 

[Titan24]

Has too many flaws to succeed against quality opposition. Scored today, so well done to him. But at the end of the day, it's still another weak team.

Flaws? Can you mention few?

To me he is technically one of the most sound young players we have produced in recent times.

 

[Pete Rose]

Flaws? Can you mention few?

To me he is technically one of the most sound young players we have produced in recent times.

Seems to struggle against the incoming delivery and get suckered in to playing expansively when being tied. Doesnt play odi game at respectable tempo.
Whether these are features or bugs will be revealed as we play tougher competition. In his very small sample he has struggled against better teams

 

[TeamPak95]

Maybe I'm thinking a bit too much here, but if Imam can stay at the crease (albeit, most likely at a slow rate) and is keeping the scoreboard ticking if not much boundaries are being scored, once he get's out I feel Pakistan could have an opportunity to bring up an Asif and Faheem and see how they fare once they have a platform to bat from. The way Imam has played so far, it would seem to me that he creates that platform (again, not in the most dynamic way but still). And then Asif and Faheem could settle, and then unleash to up the run rate.

 

[MMHS]

Flaws? Can you mention few?

To me he is technically one of the most sound young players we have produced in recent times.

You are mixing defensive batting with good technique. It's not - defense is just one part of the game and everyone praise for Goff Boycott's defense, but he was dropped from ENG team few times for his slow, selfish batting.

Coming to Imam, his biggest weakness (still, might improve in future under Arthur) is his shot making ability - he can't play shots unless it's a poor ball or bowled against the field, which chokes him against better teams even in domestics (hence 32/72). And, shot making ability is not about who is bowling - McGrath or Mashrafee; if it's a half volley or long-hop, it should find the gap on way to boundary. Great batsmen does that even against good balls, average batsman need to wait for the absolute bad ones - and they can be restricted by field position or bowling length, which you can't do against top players, they'll improvise & adjust their game to find a way to hit & score. This was the biggest criticism of Azhar Ali as ODI batsman, otherwise his List A (& ODI as well) stats are more than excellent.

Shot making ability is the biggest quality of a batsman, then you perfect technique and your defense to last long. Imam might develop into a better batsman in ODI because of the guidance now he'll get from Arthur & his coaching staffs, but there are better prospects in terms of natural ability who has higher range than him. Don't you think if Amin was given unconditional 35 games against every team (not only lower ranked teams) in one stress, under the national coaching staff won't he had improved his average of 19?

 

[Titan24]

You are mixing defensive batting with good technique. It's not - defense is just one part of the game and everyone praise for Goff Boycott's defense, but he was dropped from ENG team few times for his slow, selfish batting.

Coming to Imam, his biggest weakness (still, might improve in future under Arthur) is his shot making ability - he can't play shots unless it's a poor ball or bowled against the field, which chokes him against better teams even in domestics (hence 32/72). And, shot making ability is not about who is bowling - McGrath or Mashrafee; if it's a half volley or long-hop, it should find the gap on way to boundary. Great batsmen does that even against good balls, average batsman need to wait for the absolute bad ones - and they can be restricted by field position or bowling length, which you can't do against top players, they'll improvise & adjust their game to find a way to hit & score. This was the biggest criticism of Azhar Ali as ODI batsman, otherwise his List A (& ODI as well) stats are more than excellent.

Shot making ability is the biggest quality of a batsman, then you perfect technique and your defense to last long. Imam might develop into a better batsman in ODI because of the guidance now he'll get from Arthur & his coaching staffs, but there are better prospects in terms of natural ability who has higher range than him. Don't you think if Amin was given unconditional 35 games against every team (not only lower ranked teams) in one stress, under the national coaching staff won't he had improved his average of 19?

No its not his defensive I am talking about. He knows his off stump and can put the bad balls away without anything extravaganza which is something lacking in most young batsmen around

 

[Usman Chadda]

Flaws? Can you mention few?

To me he is technically one of the most sound young players we have produced in recent times.

Falls over against the incoming delivery. The bowlers on show at the moment in Asia Cup don’t have the same skill, but Boult ruthlessly exposed Imam’s technique. Watch those 6-7 balls he faced and you will know why a high quality quick will trouble Imam.

Also he unnecessarily puts himself under pressure by premeditating what he will be doing. Rotation of strike against good bowling is an issue because of no proper release shot.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Im not interested in arguing with someone who caricatures what I say. Please address yourself to what I actually wrote. I didn't say Rashid and Mujeeb are ATG I simply pointed out that there are no better spinners than these in LOI cricket today and I stand by this assessment. Nor did I claim that Imam has proved himself, I said that he is in the process of proving himself. Because he has begun playing against real quality attacks. We can never say how good a player he really is until he finally retires. But it makes no sense to remain stuck in this kind of Groundhog day argument about how Imam has not yet been tested when he actually is being tested. On spinning pitches Afghanistan has a real quality attack, that is incontestable. Not least because this attack is proving themselves against the best quality batting opposition in the world. Who plays spin better than the Asian nations? There is nothing wrong with wanting to see how he performs against quality pace, on pace friendly pitches, but you can't have it both ways. Those pitches won't support spin, so someone else will then argue that he hasn't faced good spin yet, on helpful pitches. Etc. Sure, time will tell, but it is no longer too soon to be able to say something about his ability.

Lots of words there.

But the main issue is not whether he can play pace or spin.

You deliberately seem to have evaded the point.

Main issue is his performance against better teams BEFORE we can decide is he worth investing in the longer run?

If performance against weaker teams is what makes you excited about him, then that's that.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Because of his surname. If his name was Imam Khan, Imam Ashraf or Imam Afridi, he would get less stick. Also, nepotism is okay as long as the right person has the right contacts. Imam might have bypassed a few candidates but so far he has justified his selection. That is all that matters.

Houn daso?

 

[OmaIR1]

Flat track bully

Minnow basher

to name a few not to mention that dropped catch today?

 

[Asif321]

Wasn’t he giving those interviews like a pro lol useless fielder becoming liability

 

[badsha001]

Bhateja

 

[Pete Rose]

I should add, doesn’t field well, also

 

[Something]

What bothers me is people criticize Imam but were praising Sarfraz's innings today. If you're going to criticize someone for playing slow then at least be consistent.

 

[MenInG]

Now is his chance.

 

[srh]

Imam's ODI record:
12 Innings
Average of 67.6 at a SR of 84.92
Vs. Sri Lanka in UAE:
100 off 125 balls, 2 off 3 balls, 45* off 64 balls
Vs. NZ in NZ:
2 off 11 balls
Vs. Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe:
128 off 134 balls, 44 off 51 balls, 0 off 1 ball, 113 off 122 balls, 110 off 105 balls
Asia Cup:
50* off 69 balls vs. HK, 2 off 7 balls vs. India, 80 off 104 balls vs Afg.

To me, these stats do not justify the criticism he gets. People complain that his only runs come against "minnows" but he has only played 2 games out of 12 against "non-minnows" (NZ and India) and it was not only him who played poorly against these teams. He can only score against whoever is put in front of him.

People complain that he is too slow and we need a slogger to play with Zaman but truth be told, if a slogger opened instead of Imam, we may have been 5-2 after 2 overs and potentially collapse and crumble against Afg. and those same people would be complaining that we don't have players who can build an innings and have good temperament. People forget that 50 overs is actually quite a long time and it is important to make use of the full quota of overs effectively rather than slogging your way to a half-decent total after 40 overs.

I hope that today's innings, although it was not against the best side in the world, justified his spot in the team. Him and Babar controlled the tempo nicely and kept the runs ticking whilst they were there. They looked at ease with the situation where perhaps a different player may have felt a bit of pressure and become too defensive after Fakhar's wicket.

Perhaps people are so worried about nepotism (which is justifiable considering previous selections under other selectors) that they are over judging him. Is he being judged too harshly because he is Inzi's nephew? I think he deserves to be given time and more opportunities than what people are willing to give him, especially as he is only 22 years old.

because he was first selected in ODI team not on merit