Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq: “I have been working a lot on my shot development because you can’t afford to get slow or bogged down in the middle of an innings and this has happened with us and cost us matches”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq has worked on increasing his scoring options as he doesn’t want to get “bogged down” when he finds himself at the crease.
Imam emphasised the importance of keeping the scoreboard ticking, warning that prolonged periods without runs can lead to wickets falling and matches being lost.
“I have been working a lot on my shot development because you can’t afford to get slow or bogged down in the middle of an innings and this has happened with us and cost us matches,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The 30-year-old recently featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against South Africa and scored 119 runs, which included a top score of 93, at an average of 29.75.
After the Tests, the two teams went head to head in three T20Is and three ODIs, both of which the men in green won 2-1.
Pakistan then took on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series and whitewashed them 3-0.
As for the T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, the men in green ended up emerging victorious.
Since he didn’t take part in any of Pakistan’s recent white-ball series, Imam went back to domestic cricket and represented Multan Region in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), which is Pakistan’s first-class competition.
In three matches, he scored 270 runs, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 54.
Imam then proceeded to play for Oil & Gas Development Company Limited in the President’s Cup Grade-I (1-Day) tournament, where he finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 457 runs in eight games, which included two hundreds and two half-centuries, at an average of 76.16.