Imam ‘not bothered’ about his future

LAHORE: Pakistan’s opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq says he is not worried about his future despite uncertainty over whether chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq — who is also Imam’s uncle — will get an extension.

“I don’t care about the pros and cons of my relationship with him [Inzamam],” Imam said while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. Imam, 23, made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi in October 2017, and has played all his cricket for Pakistan with Inzamam as the selection boss. He had a decent but unspectacular World Cup, scoring 305 runs in eight innings at an average of 38.12 and a strike rate of 76.25, hitting one century and one half-century.

“This is something that you people, the media, speak about,” Imam said. “Our public is innocent and they believe whatever they are told. I believe in Allah. I am playing because he has destined it to be so.

“It was a good campaign as we won five out of nine and couldn’t qualify because of our net run-rate. We are also disappointed for that, as are our fans” “But such talk has taught me a lot and made me strong mentally. It does hurt, but I try to take it positively. It is true that even if I perform in ten matches but fail in two, I am criticised. But I try not to be bothered.”

Imam has the runs, especially in the 50-over game, but has often been too slow in gathering his runs; his strike rate is among the poorest among those with at least 1000 runs since the 2015 World Cup.

“I do feel that I can improve my career strike rate from where it is today,” he said.“But, we have to realise my role in the team. I open with Fakhar, who is an aggressive batsman. He is given the role to play aggressive cricket while I have to anchor the innings.”