People will never accept me, Imam ul-Haq addresses nepotism claims

Imam ul-Haq has emerged as one of the most promising prospects in world cricket and the same is reflected in his records. Having made his debut as a mere 21-year-old two years ago, the opener has cemented his place in the team across formats and holds a central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board. However, being a nephew of Inzamam ul-Haq, the highest run scorer for the country ever, the player has to constantly battle allegations of nepotism with a widespread belief that he is only in the team because of his uncle’s involvement with the Board.

“I don’t think it will change unfortunately. The people will never accept me. That’s what I think. I will be very pleased if people were to accept me as Imam-ul-Haq and not as someone’s nephew,” the batsman was quoted saying by Times Now.

Inzamam ul-Haq was named the batting consultant and later chief selector for the national team in 2016, back when Imam had started entering the spotlight at the domestic level. It was not long before he was given a call up when Mickey Arthur was head coach and while most believe it to Inzamam’s doing, it was actually Azahr Ali’s injury in the run-up to a match against Sri Lanka that had made Imam’s debut possible. He had gone on to score a century in the match.

“People think he instructed Mickey Arthur to select me. People need to realize that we are living in a time where you can’t hide anything from the media. I won’t be in the team without my performance,” Imam added. 

Imam has 1,500-plus runs in ODIs at an average of nearly 55 and is the second fastest ever to reach the 1,00 run milestone, ahead of compatriot Babar Azam and indian stalwart Virat Kohli. However, he had come under a lot of criticism after a disappointing World Cup that saw the Green Army knocked out in the group stage itself.

“I cry a lot when Pakistan lose. Its hurts me if people criticise Babar Azam or Mohammad Amir. I know what we all go through to give our best for the team,” he concluded.