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Why does Imam-ul-Haq get so much hate?

ExpressPacer

ExpressPacer

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I cannot believe that fans are STILL hating on him. The guy is barely 23 years old and in his 16 ODI's that he has played; he averages 63 at a strike rate of 82 with four hundreds, 3 fifties and nearly a thousand runs. These are amazing numbers for ANYONE and he's shown throughout the Test series that he's one of our best batsmen.

Who do you guys want? Imran Nazir? Umar Akmal? Nasir Jamshed? Asif? Rafatullah? Awais Zia?

He's starting to come into his own, at 23 years old, what else can we expect from someone like him?
 
because he seemed like an azhar ali clone and went into hiding against the bigger teams... plus his uncle is inzamam ul haq, so we felt that if he wasn't related to inzi he wouldn't have been in the team.

but he played well today and hopefully he continues to play this way
 
simple because his uncle is CS.
we as a nation always find ways to criticize each other and everyone
 
It’s good we are backing a 23 ye old hopefully it will be a good investment in the long run.
 
Batted well today. Threw a certain 100 away though.

I suppose his Inzamam connection is a magnet for mud being thrown at him whenever he fails.
 
hopefully today was just a start and theres more good innings to come from this youngsta beauty
 
Because he takes too many chances to play one good inning like this. Any average player from Pakistan's FC cricket can play like this given so many chances, same is the case with Shafiq, Azhar and Sarfraz.
 
He is class to watch when on song, be it against minnows or the better sides.

That six of Rabada was surely the highlight of today.
 
Pakistani fans are so fickle, its disgusting. Do you guys know why the Pakistani team fares so poorly in ODI's and Tests? Its because we lack batsmen that get big runs. This is why post Younis and Misbah, Pakistan have struggled so much in Test match cricket. No matter how good your bowlers are, your captain is or even your batsmen, as long as someone isn't getting big hundreds, it is very hard for you to win games.

Why did Pakistan win 2013 series in India? Because Nasir Jamshed got hundreds.
Why did Pakistan win 2017 CT? Because FZ got a century in the final.
Why does India win so much? Because they have hundred-hitting batsmen.

Pakistan is lucky to have found someone like Imam who likes to get big hundreds and even 50's of note. He isn't the type of cricketer to get small, impact-less runs get a 50, enough to get him a spot for the next game and then get out, like Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz and even Malik. In his short career of 16 games, the guy has 4 hundreds and 3 fifties; all three fifties are scores of 80, 83 and 86 - these can be match-winning runs. Not meek 50's that have no positive impact on the game.

Pakistan have lacked such a cricketer over the years and having someone like him is nothing short of a blessing. He is only going to get better with experience. Throwing him away to rot in Pakistan's abysmal domestic cricket is only going to ruin someone of equal potential as that of Babar. Lets not forget that the lad opens the innings and is there to face the very best bowlers with the swinging new ball up front.

As for the naysayers like [MENTION=141839]moghul[/MENTION], [MENTION=140491]Greenstorm[/MENTION], [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] and plenty of others on PP, I would remind you that this was not his only innings of note against a decent opposition. He rescued Pakistan with his 80 vs Afghanistan in the Asia cup where we would have been humiliated and lost. And the Afghan attack consisted of Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi on UAE pitches who would wreak havoc against anyone. These guys are world class spinners.

His hundred on debut came vs Sri Lanka and let me remind you, this was the same tour where they whitewashed us in Tests.

He scored and 83 vs Bangladesh and did his best to save us from humiliation but owing to no support, we ended up losing the match. Don't blame Imam for everything, please!

Honestly, I've realized that Pakistani fans don't deserve good players. They have them in their ranks and they hate on them constantly. I would aspect educated posters on PP to be sensible with their assessments but like they say, "you can take the man out of Pakistan but you can't take the Pakistani out of the man". Very disappointing from us people as fans to put such tremendous pressure on a fine, young talented batsman.
 
Imam has shown very good temprament so far in his little career.
Also has to deal with added pressure of nephew tag.
I liked it when he was so disappointed after getting out today
 
The inzi connection will always be there for him whenever he performs poorly. But I must say he batted really well and struck a magnificent six.
 
Imam was a no one and no one knew he existed until his uncle who is cs on an odd day selected him into the team. If that isn’t nepotism I’m not sure what is. There are many more diserving players that him like Saud, Saad, Fawad, and Rizwan who have better domestic records rotting away without getting a chance unlike this hack.
 
Greenstorm said:
This is his first good innings against a decent side.
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Agree.

If you have watched cricket in last 3 months (vs NZ and SA), its very clear why Imam get the hate. Today was a fantastic innings thou, and if he can play like this, he will absolutely be a crucial part of this team
 
His stats are misleading he's cashed in against minnows and struggled generally against the better teams he isn't going to be a great batsman no matter how much hyperbole he gets.
 
Here is a list of reasons.

1. He has been selected in the team ahead of players who have a better domestic record than him.

2. His minnow bashing has inflated his numbers at an unreal level.

3. He is an accumulator in the mold of Babar and has brain fades at inopportune moments.

4. His fielding is bang on average.

5. Him opening the batting with Fakhar put even more pressure on Fakhar against decent attacks as run scoring happens only from one end. (at a fair clip).

6. He does not possess the extra-gear that players have who do the job that he is auditioning for (playing as many overs as an opener and taking the game deep)

7. He is currently keeping out a batsman who has shown form on the RSA tour (that'd be Shan)

8. His connections to the Chief Selector are well known.

Imam isn't really a terrible player but this is the era of flat tracks and fast scoring. Look at the teams who are above Pakistan in the table, and see how many out of those teams will take Imam as an opener. India, England, RSA, and NZL won't have him. Aus is struggling without Warner but once he comes back, they will be okay at the top spot.

Considering all things 2019 and this being the world cup year and the type of tracks in England where 300 is the par, he looks hopelessly out of touch.

Granted he played good innings today and hit a couple of sixes but this doesn't mean that his flaws can be papered over. Even today the timing and manner of his wicket was uncalled for. That said, in this team, he isn't the only problem as of now, there are other and mostly bigger fish to fry.
 
He is young and possesses talent with the bat, along with a mature temperament. Needs to be persisted with for now, because he could prove to be a similarly profitable investment to Babar.
 
When a batsman with poor domestic stats gets selected for national side, questions will be raised, specially when he is related to CS. So no need to blame fans.

Imam is mentally tough with a compact technique. His head used to fall over while playing through leg side but he looked much improved in this tour. But issue with him is that he is too limited and cannot change gears. Today he got out trying exactly that. He could not win us the game against Bangladesh precisely because of that. We cannot chase 300+ scores with him as an opener, unless Fakhar plays a blinder.

The role of top 3 in ODIs is to pierce the gaps or loft it over the infield during powerplay overs by timing the ball and getting on top of the bounce, playing with soft hands to rotate strike, milking the spinners for ones and two, with occasional boundaries in between, going after the bowlers in final 15-20 overs. We need a top 3 who can do that. Babar and Fakhar are decent but Imam does not fit that criteria. A top 4 of,

Shan/anyone else that fits
Fakhar
Babar
Harris

can do much better.
 
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Premature thread - Imam won't win us matches chasing 300+ with how he paces his innings and inability to convert his 50s to 100s as evident from today's game and the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh.

I've accepted that he will be playing the WC no matter how he performs in the remaining ODIs until then but his capacity for securing wins are 250-270 max.
 
His Technique is not bad. He plays the short ball better than Fakhar
 
What is wrong with you guys? Why can't you let these guy perform regularly before passing judgement?

If Imam won one match he also failed many times against top sides since 2017.

The basic ingredients are there he just needs to stop these brain fades and continue playing long innings in tests and ODI's. Also that 4/5th stump line issue on fast wickets needs to be improved. Hope he can learn from Shan Masood.
 
Snak3eye5 said:
Imam was a no one and no one knew he existed until his uncle who is cs on an odd day selected him into the team. If that isn’t nepotism I’m not sure what is. There are many more diserving players that him like Saud, Saad, Fawad, and Rizwan who have better domestic records rotting away without getting a chance unlike this hack.
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This isn't true. Imam was one of the top performers from U19 days, and was touted by many to make the international side along with Sami Aslam. It's more Imam hasn't excelled in domestic as he was expected to. Sami also got a shot before being dropped too, it's more that Imam has been able to maintain a high average in a format (despite Sami doing excellent in England tests).

It seems common selection policy to rush young guys and those who excel in U19 cricket through. Babar, Sami, Shadab, Imam, Umar Akmal and Shaheen all examples of this I can think off the top of my head. In fact Sami, Imam, Shaheen all of these debuted despite not really doing wonders in domestic.

I think selection committee tends to prioritise those who do well at a young age, not those who improve later. Both Imam and Sami have some of the best records for Pakistan bats at U19 ever.

Pakistan's selection policy also tends to be if you don't succeed early on in your career, that's it. You're a TTF, try someone else. On the other hand if you show some success early on, you'll will be given multiple chances and constantly brought back even after being dropped repeatedly from the team. Why perhaps players are so scared of losing their place, a lot of them know once they lose their place, even if they perform out of their minds in domestic and improve, the door might still be shut regardless as they're already labelled a TTF upon failure.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Pakistani fans are so fickle, its disgusting. Do you guys know why the Pakistani team fares so poorly in ODI's and Tests? Its because we lack batsmen that get big runs. This is why post Younis and Misbah, Pakistan have struggled so much in Test match cricket. No matter how good your bowlers are, your captain is or even your batsmen, as long as someone isn't getting big hundreds, it is very hard for you to win games.

Why did Pakistan win 2013 series in India? Because Nasir Jamshed got hundreds.
Why did Pakistan win 2017 CT? Because FZ got a century in the final.
Why does India win so much? Because they have hundred-hitting batsmen.

Pakistan is lucky to have found someone like Imam who likes to get big hundreds and even 50's of note. He isn't the type of cricketer to get small, impact-less runs get a 50, enough to get him a spot for the next game and then get out, like Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz and even Malik. In his short career of 16 games, the guy has 4 hundreds and 3 fifties; all three fifties are scores of 80, 83 and 86 - these can be match-winning runs. Not meek 50's that have no positive impact on the game.

Pakistan have lacked such a cricketer over the years and having someone like him is nothing short of a blessing. He is only going to get better with experience. Throwing him away to rot in Pakistan's abysmal domestic cricket is only going to ruin someone of equal potential as that of Babar. Lets not forget that the lad opens the innings and is there to face the very best bowlers with the swinging new ball up front.

As for the naysayers like [MENTION=141839]moghul[/MENTION], [MENTION=140491]Greenstorm[/MENTION], [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] and plenty of others on PP, I would remind you that this was not his only innings of note against a decent opposition. He rescued Pakistan with his 80 vs Afghanistan in the Asia cup where we would have been humiliated and lost. And the Afghan attack consisted of Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi on UAE pitches who would wreak havoc against anyone. These guys are world class spinners.

His hundred on debut came vs Sri Lanka and let me remind you, this was the same tour where they whitewashed us in Tests.

He scored and 83 vs Bangladesh and did his best to save us from humiliation but owing to no support, we ended up losing the match. Don't blame Imam for everything, please!

Honestly, I've realized that Pakistani fans don't deserve good players. They have them in their ranks and they hate on them constantly. I would aspect educated posters on PP to be sensible with their assessments but like they say, "you can take the man out of Pakistan but you can't take the Pakistani out of the man". Very disappointing from us people as fans to put such tremendous pressure on a fine, young talented batsman.
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Decent post, and I generally support Imam.

But the bitter truth is, he isn't going to be of much help in high scoring matches. In ICC tournaments that's kind of crucial to win you games or the trophy.


We need to be on the lookout for someone more dynamic.

Of course, he also gets undue hate from some haters like the ones you mentioned.
 
Good thread. I have made similar thread regarding Imam but couldnt change the opinion of posters who just see him as nephew of Inzi and nothing more.
 
Also people saying he wont be useful in 300+ chases should understand that we werent chasing 250+ totals before let alone 300.

Pak wil win most of the matches if the team can chase over 250, if total is above 300 then he isnt the only one others are also their to score.
 
Imam, Hafeez and a few others will always be hated.

Harris can do no wrong for the same posters. And the same would fight to the very end in criticising Inzimam for not selecting Fawad Alam
 
If he wasnt inzis nephew would he have been selected in 1st place?

NO he wouldnt.
 
There is a belief that nepotism played a big part in his selection, but he actually but up big numbers while coming up.

If you separate Inzi from Imam, and he deserves it on pedigree.

Facts are the facts, 17 matches, 4 centuries, 4 fifties, 60 average with an 80 SR and a very impressive innings on foreign ground.

There is this odd idea that Imam is blocking better players who are at home.
This is factually incorrect. How many players in the history of Pakistan have started this strong? Very few.

That doesn't mean he will be a top 10 batsmen, but given what Pakistan has produced over the last ten years, he has great promise.

For all this, he has only scored on easy grounds, or at home, but is it as though we have had all these other batsmen score on home soil? No. We don't.

All these other players who have had all this talent (Umar Amin+Akmal for example) have played more matches combined and do not have as many centuries.

He's done well and deserves credit. He would have been selected regardless of Inzi, and it has been used as a crutch against him.
 
We all know why whole Pakistan has issues with him.
He is a

product of nepotism

club level player playing for the national team just because of his selector uncle who does part time as a nanny accompanying or joining him on the tours.

Fears the short bowl due to his technique. Its pretty easy to get him out bowling short to him.

Has zero calibre against conventional swing and bounce.

Not a player that can play on all sides after the field restrictions are removed 3rd man, long off and mid-wicket are the places where he continues to knock the ball for a single and accumulate score.

Has to hit in the air so keeps back his shots if the fielders are present near the boundary.

Most importantly there are 70+ players in the country performing in first class who are better than him yet he surpasses due to being a nephew of a chief selector.
 
The hate is because of how he got to the side using his relationship with the chief selector. If he performs then only Pakistan benefits which should be the ultimate goal, but some people want certain players to fail (or others to prosper) so that they look good. Ego problems.

Even Imran Farhat has a highest score of 93 in SA, did it make his selection a meritorious one? Things in life aren't as black and white as posters on here think.
 
Syed1 said:
The hate is because of how he got to the side using his relationship with the chief selector. If he performs then only Pakistan benefits which should be the ultimate goal, but some people want certain players to fail (or others to prosper) so that they look good. Ego problems.

Even Imran Farhat has a highest score of 93 in SA, did it make his selection a meritorious one? Things in life aren't as black and white as posters on here think.
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Farhat has 1 ODI centurt in 58 innings to Imam's 4 in 17. There was a time that the entire Pakistani side didn't have as many centuries as this 20 year old did.
 
Ilan Bluestone said:
Farhat has 1 ODI centurt in 58 innings to Imam's 4 in 17. There was a time that the entire Pakistani side didn't have as many centuries as this 20 year old did.
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He is 23 years old. He has 1 century against SL and 3 against Zim.
 
He gets unnecessary hate due to being Inzamam's nephew, still this was his first good knock against quality opposition in ODI cricket and needs to do it consistently in future.
 
4 ODI 100s and 3 of those vs the might zimbabwe. Lets get some context here :facepalm:
 
Snak3eye5 said:
Imam was a no one and no one knew he existed until his uncle who is cs on an odd day selected him into the team. If that isn’t nepotism I’m not sure what is. There are many more diserving players that him like Saud, Saad, Fawad, and Rizwan who have better domestic records rotting away without getting a chance unlike this hack.
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Maybe You havent seen him bat at u19 level, he was one of the promising stars alongside sami aslam and babar azam, so he was bever a “no one”. He performed quite well with the A team as well, so if you did not know about him that’s another case...
 
It’s a typical trait of Pakistani fans. Let’s not forget Shan Masood got similar hate and now everyone thinks he’s captain material. Imam is here to stay and is actually good regardless of who his uncle is.
 
People who say he has 3 hundreds vs Zim.So what should he have.3 naughts.We have bigger problems than him and he looks to be improving with each game.That is a big thing in Pak cricket.This guy requires our support rather than Shehzad or Akmal as those guys just show off on social media with zero improvement in their game.
 
If one letter of his surname was different, he would have been praised to the moon.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Pakistani fans are so fickle, its disgusting. Do you guys know why the Pakistani team fares so poorly in ODI's and Tests? Its because we lack batsmen that get big runs. This is why post Younis and Misbah, Pakistan have struggled so much in Test match cricket. No matter how good your bowlers are, your captain is or even your batsmen, as long as someone isn't getting big hundreds, it is very hard for you to win games.

Why did Pakistan win 2013 series in India? Because Nasir Jamshed got hundreds.
Why did Pakistan win 2017 CT? Because FZ got a century in the final.
Why does India win so much? Because they have hundred-hitting batsmen.

Pakistan is lucky to have found someone like Imam who likes to get big hundreds and even 50's of note. He isn't the type of cricketer to get small, impact-less runs get a 50, enough to get him a spot for the next game and then get out, like Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz and even Malik. In his short career of 16 games, the guy has 4 hundreds and 3 fifties; all three fifties are scores of 80, 83 and 86 - these can be match-winning runs. Not meek 50's that have no positive impact on the game.

Pakistan have lacked such a cricketer over the years and having someone like him is nothing short of a blessing. He is only going to get better with experience. Throwing him away to rot in Pakistan's abysmal domestic cricket is only going to ruin someone of equal potential as that of Babar. Lets not forget that the lad opens the innings and is there to face the very best bowlers with the swinging new ball up front.

As for the naysayers like [MENTION=141839]moghul[/MENTION], [MENTION=140491]Greenstorm[/MENTION], [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] and plenty of others on PP, I would remind you that this was not his only innings of note against a decent opposition. He rescued Pakistan with his 80 vs Afghanistan in the Asia cup where we would have been humiliated and lost. And the Afghan attack consisted of Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi on UAE pitches who would wreak havoc against anyone. These guys are world class spinners.

His hundred on debut came vs Sri Lanka and let me remind you, this was the same tour where they whitewashed us in Tests.

He scored and 83 vs Bangladesh and did his best to save us from humiliation but owing to no support, we ended up losing the match. Don't blame Imam for everything, please!

Honestly, I've realized that Pakistani fans don't deserve good players. They have them in their ranks and they hate on them constantly. I would aspect educated posters on PP to be sensible with their assessments but like they say, "you can take the man out of Pakistan but you can't take the Pakistani out of the man". Very disappointing from us people as fans to put such tremendous pressure on a fine, young talented batsman.
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Good
POTW
 
The one criticism would have been his strike rate. He won't be a problem in tests but in ODI's you need to bat a bit quicker. Also he seemed very suspect against the short ball but seems to have worked on it. Very good innings yesterday though. I think Fakhar is overrated actually. Shan should walk into that opener's spot.
 
No matter what he does the hate will be there as he got in ahead of many deserving players especially in tests & in odi’s he has done not bad but I still believe Shan & Sami are better then him ps we need a dynamic opener to go along with Zaman & not a 85 SR guy cause Ahmed Shehzed can score plenty of tons & 85 SR too..
 
My problem is, OK, sure your criticism is just - but who do we have in the domestic set up to replace him with?! Konsa Viv Richards khel raha hai who Imam is keeping out? Ahmed Shehzad who ONLY plays for himself, killing the momentum of the game? Fixers in Butt, Sharjeel or Jamshed? Or is it Nauman Anwar, Naved, Awais Zia?

The truth is, no matter what you say, there is no one in the team or back at home right now that can replace him. Shan Masood is doing really well and I want him in the team but he can play at No.4. It doesn't mean that we have to replace Imam for it. Teams rarely drop a player who averages 63.

And mind you, he can only score against at who he plays. Maybe his nerves got the best of him in some games during the Asia cup and NZ was a new place to tour for him - but over all, in the limited, pressure filled chances he's got thus far, he's done remarkably well and if Pakistani fans are to keep mounting pressure on him, we are only going to lose one of the only, young and decent potential world class batsmen we have.
 
People like Tanvir Ahmed will still not be happy. Even if Tanvir Ahmed performs like Virat Kohli for the rest of his life, Tanvir Ahmed will still go on about Imam ul Haq being a nepotistic selection and that he got in the team using unfair incorrect means, he would never have got in the team without Inzi being the CS and that baqi players ka kya kasoor tha and that Inzi is not really a legend and that Inzi is so desperate to work in the PCB, he will accept a job cleaning the washroom
 
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I think if people are hand picked out of a system , while others continue to thrash around in the system with much better performances, naturally everyone will be frustrated.

OP you asked the question, why does everyone still hate Imam?

No one hates him because he performs, but because he beat the system, and got a chance ahead of others, it leaves people thinking.

We have had our fair share of nepotism with Faisal Iqbal's and Farhat's. I am not saying Imam will be like them. He might well turn out to be second coming of Anwar.

But if a system is by-passed to help an acquaintance get to the top, It would leave anyone peeved.

For instance, if open merit is considered 5 people apply for the same job. If suddenly the 6th comes into the job bypassing others because of his "contacts" , even if he is average to good in the job, the 5 others who were more worthy candidates would be consider this injustice.

You are free to accept Imam and somehow entertain the thought he might be the vital cog in the side (and perhaps he will).

But that does not mean, people look the other way, when it has been established he bypassed the system like many others before him.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
I think if people are hand picked out of a system , while others continue to thrash around in the system with much better performances, naturally everyone will be frustrated.

OP you asked the question, why does everyone still hate Imam?

No one hates him because he performs, but because he beat the system, and got a chance ahead of others, it leaves people thinking.

We have had our fair share of nepotism with Faisal Iqbal's and Farhat's. I am not saying Imam will be like them. He might well turn out to be second coming of Anwar.

But if a system is by-passed to help an acquaintance get to the top, It would leave anyone peeved.

For instance, if open merit is considered 5 people apply for the same job. If suddenly the 6th comes into the job bypassing others because of his "contacts" , even if he is average to good in the job, the 5 others who were more worthy candidates would be consider this injustice.

You are free to accept Imam and somehow entertain the thought he might be the vital cog in the side (and perhaps he will).

But that does not mean, people look the other way, when it has been established he bypassed the system like many others before him.
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People could make the same arguments that the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam themselves were hand picked and fast tracked ahead of many more deserving players at the time.

Let's not put these domestic performers on a pedestal where they could easily have been another Graeme Hick, Mark Ramprakash
 
Savak said:
People could make the same arguments that the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam themselves were hand picked and fast tracked ahead of many more deserving players at the time.

Let's not put these domestic performers on a pedestal where they could easily have been another Graeme Hick, Mark Ramprakash
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If you don't trust the system, then you have a case.

But then let's pick every player who is related to someone and screw the system altogether, as they have greater chances to succeed than players in the system.

You are arguing that the system is flawed and then at the same time only picking one odd player outside the system because of his contacts.

If you truly believe the system is flawed, then perhaps we need 10 more Imam's in the side, possibly relatives of former cricketers and administrators of PCB to help make the core of our team.

Pick a side.
 
Most of these nepotism charges come from naive overseas Pakistanis, who have been away from the country for God knows how many years.

In Pakistan cricket, it is extremely difficult to climb through the ranks without any influence and contacts.

These naive people can only talk about the nepotism that happens at the national level, such as Imam, Masood and Farhat. However, what they are not aware of is the serious nepotism that takes place at the junior and first-class levels.

They filter domestic averages and judge who is playing on nepotism and who isn’t, without realizing that a lot of these performing domestic players also relied on connections to break into the system.

If someone were to look at Imam’s international career only, he or she would think that he has been selected on merit because of his impressive record so far.

I will give the example of Fawad Alam again. His domestic record in fantastic, but he would have never gotten into the system if it wasn’t for his father, because someone with his technique will not be selected in any trial anywhere in the country.

People also don’t appreciate the value of hard work. Quite often, people who have benefited from nepotism use it as a motivation to work hard and carry their own weight. Masood and Imam are such examples.

Ultimately, what matters is your performance and not how you got there.
 
I'm an overseas but I have always supported him as I can see good temperament and improvement in him in each game and will to fight out. Funny thing is at the moment the only real alternative is Shan Masood who got near the team also due to his connections.
 
Let me try putting some context into why Imam needs to be persisted with as we have more haters than praisers for Imam on this forum.

First of all, everybody should soundly understand who Imam-ul-Haq is competing against, for a slot as an opener in Pakistan's ODI side. As of now, Imam's competition is Shan Masood, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Sahibzada Farhan, Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hafeez. I'm sure many would agree that these are the openers that we have in our setup that really have a chance to become part of the international setup. Others are just simply not good enough. Out of these players Kamran and Salman are too old. Hafeez is now a middle order batsman. Sami Aslam is a strokeless wonder. Ahmed Shehzad's torturous blocking in the first Powerplay has achieved legendary status. Farhan is touted as the "modern" player that Pakistan requires but don't understand that you need players who can also score big runs not just 20 runs at a SR of 125 and then get out. That leaves Shan and Abid. Shan is already in the mix as a backup. With regards to Abid, who would you back now before the World Cup, a 23 year old who averages 64 versus a 31 year old yet to debut? So please there are no other options. Imam and Shan right now are the two best candidates for the opening slot and both are in the squad. Imam isn't hogging a place as you don't hog a place by averaging 64. He's delivering for now so let him be.

Secondly, so much fuss is being made about Imam scoring 3 100s against Zimbabwe. While he has scored those 3 hundreds, please also give some contextual evidence to suggest that Imam's hundreds don't matter because there have been other openers as well who have smashed this Zimbabwe team to smithereens. Yes, I know you cant. The same Zimbabwe team defeated SL in a 5 match series in SL. This was the same Zimbabwe team where South African openers Markram and Hendricks averaged 35 and 24 respectively with SR of 82 and 79 AT HOME. This is again the same Zimbabwe team where Liton Das averaged 29 at HOME. Only Imrul Kayes has smashed them apart from Fakhar and Imam. So Imam demolishing Zimbabwe that too at their own ground only adds to Imam's quality, not decreases it. Give the man his due.

Thirdly, after a very long time, Pakistan has found a reliable opener who isn't fazed by chasing. In fact he thrives under the pressure of batting second. I wouldn't be surprised if he averages 50 in second innings across Tests and ODIs. Yesterday at no point in his innings did he ever look out of control. Not even when he was 0 off 11 balls. In fact he had the guts to come out and attempt the stroke that he did against Rabada. It easily could've been mistimed and he would've been gone for 0 off 12 balls. But he didn't let "what could've been" affect how he wanted to play. He is calm and above all, brave. Two qualities that you will hardly find in Pakistan's cricket right now. These are little things in the game that give you more insight about the mindset of the player. These things cannot be found in stats as some poster above said that there are players with better stats than him.

This does not mean that Imam doesn't have flaws. He doesn't have the power game at the end of the innings to go from an 85 SR to an overall 125 ala Rohit Sharma / Martin Guptill / Alex Hales. But when you start comparing Imam to those guys, you are only doing disservice to your own team. Imam is one of the best you have got as an opener in Pakistan and you have to measure him against what you have as backup. Point number 1 again. You cannot look at SA and see that they've got Rabada and slate Hasan Ali for not being on the level of Rabada.

It is also imperative to understand Imam's role in the team. He has decided that he is going to the fulcrum and the others have to seesaw. He's going to be the one who bats 50 overs at a SR of 90 and others have to rally around him. This is why Babar at 3 needs to more dynamic and play at a SR of 95-100 and not at 70 which he did yesterday.

Every Pakistani fan needs to detach himself from this absurd thought that Imam doesn't deserve a run in this team just because he is Inzi's nephew. That is not Imam's fault. He's doing the best he can and at the moment he's doing a good job. Sure he may go on and fail in the rest of the 4 innings in the ODI series but that is the time when you need to back him and not bring him down.

In the end, I just want to say this that Pakistan needs to first find players that have guts to play the game. That they are not fazed by any situation. Technique and runs matters too but technique and runs will always fall by the wayside if you don't possess the mental fortitude of keeping yourself calm under pressure situations. Imran Khan has said on multiple occasions that he preferred Ramiz Raja simply because he thought he was the bravest guy out there, not because Ramiz was the best batter in Pakistan. We have all seen how Asad Shafiq with the "best technique" kept floundering under pressure. Imam seems to have the mental thing going for him at the very least and he should be persisted with even if he scores single digits in the next 4 innings.
 
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Mirpur express said:
No matter what he does the hate will be there as he got in ahead of many deserving players especially in tests & in odi’s he has done not bad but I still believe Shan & Sami are better then him ps we need a dynamic opener to go along with Zaman & not a 85 SR guy cause Ahmed Shehzed can score plenty of tons & 85 SR too..
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Shehzad averages 32.56 at a strike rate of 72.08.

Imam averages 64.64 at a strike rate of 82.12.
 
He can play a role in chasing thse type of scores but eventually we will have to chase 300 plus scores, and do people really think Imam can bat at the appropriate strike rate ?

I like him as a test prospect but in LO he has a lot to do yet.
 
The only people whom I see still criticizing Imam are some posters on PakPassion. Otherwise nobody is on his case anymore.

I must say though the criticism is surprising. You'd think after a decade of Imran Farhats, Nasir Jamsheds and Ahmed Shehzads these people would actually appreciate an opener with a 60+ average and a good conversion rate who ACTUALLY knows how to rotate the strike but no, not the case.
 
Hasan123 said:
He can play a role in chasing thse type of scores but eventually we will have to chase 300 plus scores, and do people really think Imam can bat at the appropriate strike rate ?

I like him as a test prospect but in LO he has a lot to do yet.
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Don't get your point. He rotated the strike pretty well last night. Their was a phase in the game when he and Babar were just milking singles. And he showed he can rotate the strike well in the Bangaldesh match too.

Imam is slowly developing into a player who plays the situation and those kind of players are in very short supply in Pakistan which is why it's integral for us that he continues his development in both formats.
 
Muhammad10 said:
Shehzad averages 32.56 at a strike rate of 72.08.

Imam averages 64.64 at a strike rate of 82.12.
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Don't know where people get this myth that Shehzad was a quick scorer. He NEVER rotated the strike and used to play so many dot balls. He actually had the worst SR among all the batsmen in the side at one point. I remember people used to criticize Misbah for playing slow when in actuality he had a higher SR than Shehzad and Hafeez.
 
if he keeps playing well and improving his game the detractors will go away

he has plenty of flaws and was fast tracked into the team despite average domestic performances, hence the critisim.

Yesterday's innings was probably his best in limited overs, still some way to go though. Right now he reminds me a lot of Azhar ali as an odi opener
 
Mamoon said:
Most of these nepotism charges come from naive overseas Pakistanis, who have been away from the country for God knows how many years.

In Pakistan cricket, it is extremely difficult to climb through the ranks without any influence and contacts.

These naive people can only talk about the nepotism that happens at the national level, such as Imam, Masood and Farhat. However, what they are not aware of is the serious nepotism that takes place at the junior and first-class levels.

They filter domestic averages and judge who is playing on nepotism and who isn’t, without realizing that a lot of these performing domestic players also relied on connections to break into the system.

If someone were to look at Imam’s international career only, he or she would think that he has been selected on merit because of his impressive record so far.

I will give the example of Fawad Alam again. His domestic record in fantastic, but he would have never gotten into the system if it wasn’t for his father, because someone with his technique will not be selected in any trial anywhere in the country.

People also don’t appreciate the value of hard work. Quite often, people who have benefited from nepotism use it as a motivation to work hard and carry their own weight. Masood and Imam are such examples.

Ultimately, what matters is your performance and not how you got there.
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Yeah yeah Mr know it all , I have lived in Europe most of my adult life but you are in no position to judge my knowledge if Pakistan cricket or call me naive so crawl back under the rock
 
Better player than likes of Fawad and Asad. Hardworking and with a bright future. Go Imam!
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
The only people whom I see still criticizing Imam are some posters on PakPassion. Otherwise nobody is on his case anymore.

I must say though the criticism is surprising. You'd think after a decade of Imran Farhats, Nasir Jamsheds and Ahmed Shehzads these people would actually appreciate an opener with a 60+ average and a good conversion rate who ACTUALLY knows how to rotate the strike but no, not the case.
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Well that just shows that you dont watch cricket shows in Pakistan.
Imam has some supporters on PP but on TV shows and infront of our analysts and on social media everybody is full of how he is a sifarishi and i have even heard analysts questioning Inzimam's conscience and don't even get me started on the memes on Imam.
Especially after the Test series and in the first ODI when people wanted Shan to be selected in place of Imam.
 
Green Patriot said:
Well that just shows that you dont watch cricket shows in Pakistan.
Imam has some supporters on PP but on TV shows and infront of our analysts and on social media everybody is full of how he is a sifarishi and i have even heard analysts questioning Inzimam's conscience and don't even get me started on the memes on Imam.
Especially after the Test series and in the first ODI when people wanted Shan to be selected in place of Imam.
Click to expand...

coming from people who mainly want fawad, Manzoor etc.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Don't get your point. He rotated the strike pretty well last night. Their was a phase in the game when he and Babar were just milking singles. And he showed he can rotate the strike well in the Bangaldesh match too.

Imam is slowly developing into a player who plays the situation and those kind of players are in very short supply in Pakistan which is why it's integral for us that he continues his development in both formats.
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His test will be when we are chasing a big score or have to set a big score. We won't be chasing these type of scores every game.

I like Imam and I hope he comes good but we can't just ignore his issues because he played a good innings.
 
I've criticised Imam-ul-Haq on here but this argument nobody had heard of him until Inzamam selected him is total hogwash. There were plenty of discussion on Imam on PP dating back to his U19 days, and there's been far more aggregious cases of nepotism in the history of Pakistan cricket.

He came into the Test side during the tour of England and Ireland after Sami Aslam failed in the warm-ups.

Where his selection was more dubious was in ODIs having a domestic List A record of 32 at a SR of 72. Whilst FC pitches in Pakistan are deplorable, the LA pitches are generally flat and good for batting so a record like Imam's will naturally leave folks doubtful he can significantly outperform those numbers against international attacks.

It's also inaccurate to say his selection was totally unmerited when he's produced some gritty knocks, notably against Ireland in a tricky runchase and against Afghanistan. But that's the issue - he's been superb against lower tier opposition BUT against top sides he averaged 29 at SR of 65 before this knock vs SA.

Even counting this creditworthy innings, his SR against top teams is 71. This will prove to be an issue when chasing higher totals - and let's not be so arrogant to think Pakistan's bowling would never concede 300+ totals given what happened at Trent Bridge v Eng, Edgbaston in the CT v Ind, and Sydney and Adelaide v Aus.

Technically, there are also areas to improve such as the way he plays around his front pad, judgment of deliveries outside offstump and against the short ball (though he seems to have worked hard on this weakness on this tour). In ODIs, it's questionable whether he has the range of shots needed in this era where all top teams possess dynamic openers who are striking above 85-90.
 
Imam got 88 yesterday, Fakhar is more of a problem than Imam, his tour ao far has been awful. He hasn't got even 88 runs in all his innings combined IIRC
 
His strike rates will improve more he plays. He has capacity to learn and he is already showing improvement each game he is playing. He is in the team to prevent collapses whilst striking at a reasonable strike rate. Likes of Fakhar and Babar and the new Hafeez with more attacking game need to hit boundaries.
 
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Hahahaha After one innings imam has become a favourite of everyone. Totally ignoring his strike rate is in 70s excluding Zimbabwe series while other top openers around the world have 90+ strike rate. Unbelievable.
These fans actually deserve pathetic players, nepotistic selections, inconsistent results. I mean it

Without Fakhar, who covers up imams slow strike rate, he will look extremely poor.

But I hope Our squad for the worldcup looks like this as these fans deserve a disastrous worldcup

Imam(vc) (nephew)
Shan (son)
S.butt
Babar (c) (coach's son/Fan's most favrt)
U.Akmal
Rizwan (Better than Sarf acc to fans)
Nawaz (PSL superstar)
H.Talat (PSL superstar)
Asif (PSL superstar)
Faheem
Bilal (best OffSpinner in sm eyes)
Amir (Coach's /Fans favorite)
Rahat (King of swing)
Wahab (As Pace is must acc to sm)
Shaheen

I would love to see this squad and fans chanting for their new skipper Babar :D

These fans don't deserve players like Fakhar, Sharjeel, Azhar, Haris, Junaid, Saud, inform Hafeez, Imad, Kashif, Rumman, Sadaf captain like Sarfraz.
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
Here is a list of reasons.

1. He has been selected in the team ahead of players who have a better domestic record than him.

2. His minnow bashing has inflated his numbers at an unreal level.

3. He is an accumulator in the mold of Babar and has brain fades at inopportune moments.

4. His fielding is bang on average.

5. Him opening the batting with Fakhar put even more pressure on Fakhar against decent attacks as run scoring happens only from one end. (at a fair clip).

6. He does not possess the extra-gear that players have who do the job that he is auditioning for (playing as many overs as an opener and taking the game deep)

7. He is currently keeping out a batsman who has shown form on the RSA tour (that'd be Shan)

8. His connections to the Chief Selector are well known.

Imam isn't really a terrible player but this is the era of flat tracks and fast scoring. Look at the teams who are above Pakistan in the table, and see how many out of those teams will take Imam as an opener. India, England, RSA, and NZL won't have him. Aus is struggling without Warner but once he comes back, they will be okay at the top spot.

Considering all things 2019 and this being the world cup year and the type of tracks in England where 300 is the par, he looks hopelessly out of touch.

Granted he played good innings today and hit a couple of sixes but this doesn't mean that his flaws can be papered over. Even today the timing and manner of his wicket was uncalled for. That said, in this team, he isn't the only problem as of now, there are other and mostly bigger fish to fry.
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Why Pakistan don't have more fans like you?
Very sensibly described.
Pakistan still have few educated and sensible cricket fans. Very heartening to see
 
I don't really like him
But he is one of the few in our sides who does mostly well while chasing
 
If he is criticised for scoring hundreds against ZIM and SL only than why are the other top 6 batsmen not for failing to take advantage of the same opportunities?
 
ManFan said:
If he is criticised for scoring hundreds against ZIM and SL only than why are the other top 6 batsmen not for failing to take advantage of the same opportunities?
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All have good record against minnows. Problem is Imam's strike rates against better teams and in big crunch matches. Yesterday he looked fine but can't ignore previous selfish innings and overall poor strike rate
 
If Imam is good in ODIs then imagine how good Shan would be in ODIs since Shan is better than Imam in domestic List A by quite a margin (would be happy if somebody can prove the last line wrong).
 
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