"Imam-ul-Haq leaked dressing room talks"- Ahmed Shehzad launches a ballistic attack on PCB

Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad is known for his blunt remarks and has been in the headlines recently. Shehzad has launched another attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by slamming them for including Imam-ul-Haq in Pakistan's squad for the Champions Trophy.

Imam-ul-Haq made a late entry into Pakistan's squad after the swashbuckling opener Fakhar Zaman was ruled out due to injury after playing just one game in the tournament. Pakistan has selected just one opener in their initial squad in the form of Fakhar Zaman.

They expected Babar Azam to open the batting alongside Fakhar. However, with Fakhar injured, they are left with limited opening options ahead of the India-Pakistan match. In his absence, Imam-ul-Haq is expected to open the batting against India.

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Why was Imam-ul-Haq dropped from the Pakistan team?

During a conversation on a show called 'Hasna Mana Hai' Geo News, Ahmed Shehzad spoke about Imam-ul-Haq's inclusion in Pakistan's squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. Shehzad also shed light on Imam's good batting form in domestic cricket recently.

"If you see Imam's recent form in domestic cricket, he is in good form. When we were taking just one opener (for the Champions Trophy), many experts were saying that Imam-ul-Haq is in good form and he must be selected," Shehzad noted.

Shehzad further claimed that Imam used to leak private information outside the dressing room which is the reason he was kept out of the team. He wasn't out of the team due to his performance.

"But the problem was his discipline and not the performance. It was said that Imam used to leak the private conversations within the team through the media, his friends. That's what we came to know but we are not aware if that's right or wrong. That's why he was kept out of the team," he added.

Ahmed Shahzad on Imam ul Haq inclusion in the team as an opener pic.twitter.com/zJwX29W2oO

— M (@anngrypakiistan) February 21, 2025

Ahmed Shehzad slams PCB for selecting Imam-u-Haq

Further speaking in the same video clip, Ahmed Shehzad slammed the PCB for not sticking to the same policy and changing it according to their requirements. He believes that Imam shouldn't have been selected if he was out due to disciplinary issues earlier.

"I'm saying that if you're taking such a strong stance, then you need to stick to it. It should not be like you are going with just one opener initially and when you need another one, you're picking a player who was banned earlier due to disciplinary issues," he said.

Imam last played an international match during the Boxing Day Test match played in Australia in December 2023. He failed miserably in that game and was dropped from the team. Since then, he has been out of Pakistan's squad for all the formats.

Imam-ul-Haq's ODI numbers

Imam-ul-Haq has impressive ODI numbers with 3138 runs in 72 matches at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 82.55 with 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. The left-handed opener was once a part of Pakistan's top order consisting of Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam.

The trio won Pakistan a no. of games in the past but fell out of favor. Recently, Imam scored a magnificent 98 off 94 balls while playing for Pakistan Shaheens against South Africa in a warm-up game before the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan are in a do-or-die situation ahead of their match against India on February 23 in Dubai. They had earlier lost their opening match to New Zealand.