Imam-ul-Haq faces criticism over injury during Lord’s Test

Former top selector Mohammad Wasim has raised doubts over Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq’s ailment in the ongoing Lord’s Test, suggesting that the batsman might have faked the injury as an excuse to avoid facing the first ball.

The PCB scheduled a scan for Imam after he was reported to have had soreness in his calf during the play. Tests apparently revealed only a slight strain.

Mohammad Wasim was critical of Imam for not taking the strike, claiming that similar occurrences have happened in the past. He asked why the experienced opener did not want to come on and kept passing the strike to debutant Azaan Owais.

The former international batter has also drawn criticism from cricket circles for not facing the first delivery, despite being an experienced international batsman. The complaint was that he had ducked the first ball in previous games against Bangladesh, West Indies and England, allowing younger batsman Azaan Owais to take strike.

There has been some disagreement as to whether Imam should have played given a small calf strain with several former players noting that other cricketers in the past have played with catastrophic injuries including broken fingers and damaged bones.

The opener’s recent Test record has also been questioned. According to the numbers quoted in the complaint, Imam has scored 45 runs at an average of 5.5 in his previous eight Test second innings, passing double digits just twice.

His fielding has also been questioned when he let slip a key catch in the slips.