Mohammad Hafeez: “The main concern is his strike-rate. As an opener, the key element missing from his game is the intent to score quickly”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said “the key element missing” from opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq’s game “is the intent to score quickly”.
He noted that Imam must be more aggressive as an opener and look to take advantage of the powerplay when batting.
In order to become a mainstay in the national team, Hafeez feels that the 29-year-old must boost his strike-rate.
“The main concern is his strike-rate. As an opener, the key element missing from his game is the intent to score quickly,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Imam was recently in action in the 2025 Champions Trophy after being called up to replace Fakhar Zaman, who was ruled out of the competition after sustaining an oblique injury in the opening match against New Zealand.
Imam only played against India and made 10 runs.
Pakistan failed to make it out of the group stage as they lost to New Zealand and India, while their final game against Bangladesh was washed out.
The men in green will now tour New Zealand for a white-ball series, which will comprise five T20Is and three ODIs that will be held from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir
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