PAK vs NZ: “Sach Batau To Dil Kaafi Dafa Kiya Hai Ki Chachu Ko Bolu Meri Kya Galti Thi”- Imam-ul-Haq On Comparisons With Inzamam-ul-Haq

Pakistan opening batter Imam-ul-Haq played a match-saving innings against New Zealand in the first Test of the two-match series at the National Stadium in Karachi. He drove in 96 runs in the second inning, bringing the hosts back into the game. The southpaw opened up about comparisons with legendary former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Imam-ul-Haq played 19 Tests and 54 ODIs, scoring 1322 and 2528 runs, respectively. The 27-year-old is a key player in the ODI setup and has made significant progress in red-ball cricket as well. But, being the nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq, it wasn’t an easy start for him, and the expectations were high.

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I Came After Long Process As Well – Imam-ul-Haq

In a recent interview with Sports Central, Imam spoke about the pressure of expectations early in his career and how he dealt with them. He admitted that he gets frustrated when people compare him to Inzamam.

“Sach batau to dil kaafi dafa kiya hai ki chachu ko bolu ‘meri kya galti thi’.(If I’m being honest, I felt I should tell chachu (Inzamam), ‘what was my mistake?’), Imam told Sports Central.

“But some things come unwanted in your life. People say that I handled it well, but I actually didn’t. I just went with the flow because I had no other option. I came after a long process as well; I played two U19 World Cups, played in 45 first-class matches and had an average of 50 in the Qaid-e-Azam trophy when I was first picked in the team,” he added.

Imam-ul-Haq made his international debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 and became Pakistan’s second player to score a century on debut in ODIs.

Babar Azam Played a Very Big Role In Supporting Me – Imam-ul-Haq

The left-handed batter praised Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for his support in handling the pressure early in his career.

“Initially, I couldn’t handle the pressure and I won’t lie. I didn’t know what to do. And I would like to mention Babar here. He played a very big role in supporting me. We played a lot of cricket together. And it was vice-versa, if he had doubts, we used to discuss them as well. In my family, we are all fighters and we don’t give up easily. So I kept on putting the hard work and I had good people around me,” he said.

The second and final Test match of the two-match series starts on January 2nd at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Also read: IND vs SL: “Suryakumar Yadav Is The Flagbearer Of India’s New T20 Template, His Graph Kept Climbing Continuously” – Aakash Chopra

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