Corruption, nepotism and favouritism; although completely deplorable, still remain a huge part of cricket including Pakistan’s.
Imam-ul-Haq, who is the nephew of current selection committee head Inzamam-ul-Haq, has been targeted due to this very reason.
Many people claimed that Shan Masood and Mohammad Rizwan, due to their splendid domestic performance, deserved a place ahead of Imam. While that may be true on paper, that is flawed logic, to begin with.
Imam, has now scored 905 runs at an average of 64.64 in the 17 matches he has played. His statistics at the international stage are more than impressive enough to warrant a place in the starting XI.
As for the comparison with rest of the players, while there may be outstanding performers on the domestic level, assuming they will replicate the same form on the international stage is a huge leap of faith.
Imam-ul-Haq Set to Equal a World Record
Likes of Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq have upheld Pakistan’s reputation as one of the most explosive teams in the world of cricket. The current opening pair; Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman both are preserving that image.
Fakhar Zaman, who scored Pakistan’s first-ever 200 runs in one-day internationals against Zimbabwe, became the world’s fastest player to reach 1000 runs in international cricket.
Fakhar reached the mark in his 18th ODI inning and currently, Imam has 905 runs from 17 innings, which means Imam will have to score 95 runs in his next innings if he is to equal the world record.
Here is how his one-day international career looks like:
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s / 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 17 | 905 | 64.64 | 82.12 | 4 / 4 |
The likes of Rashid Latif have termed Imam as one of the mentally strong players in international cricket. According to the legendary cricketer, “Had Imam been an ordinary player, he would have succumbed to the media pressure and the allegations of nepotism.”
Nepotism or not, this is indeed a start of a great career for Imam. Instead of stirring controversies, as fans, our primary goal should to support and celebrate all those who are making the country proud.
good
This is how we become fool. He can be a good performer in limited overs but can you provide stats for Test Match?
I am arguing on basis of ODI cricket. Please go through the entire article first.
Agreed with everything the author says. But what was his stats before he got selected to the national team? Was he the best player in the domestic circuit? Was he consistent in domestic circuit? And the most important question is why not Fawad? He got selected based on nepotism. No doubt about that. Now that the author is highlighting the ‘merits’, should we accept nepotism in general? Are other players talents not justified? Appreciation where it is needed. But DOWN WITH NEPOTISM.
Imran Khan brought Inzamam-ul-Haq to the first team. Similar is the case with so many players in Pakistan cricket’s history. If you’re going to neglect the eye of the selectors and the captain then the entire conversation collapses and it is your view against mine, which will lead the conversation absolutely nowhere.
Sometimes you have to trust the system and the people who are in the position of making decisions. Why criticize even if things are working smoothly?
So according to the author, selecting some one based on domestic performance and expecting similar results is a giant leap of faith. Some one getting selected other than performance in domestic games and doing good is laudable? In that case, why don’t we have this as our selection criteria? Why don’t we give chances to our nephews, sons, etc.
That is taking my words out of context. I am merely arguing that why are we criticizing someone who has an average of 64.64 in the ODIs and claiming that he shouldn’t be in the team?
Of course domestic circuit is a crucial part of any cricketing system. However, the fact that ours isn’t remotely as good as India’s or Australia’s plays a huge part.
There have been a number of good domestic performers who have tried and failed on international stage. All I’m saying is that it’s not as foolproof as it may seem from the outside.
Look man I am not devaluing the performance. I am not a fan of the selection process. Nepotism shouldn’t be encouraged at any cost. Only performance should be the criteria for selection. There are no probabilities for performance at international levels. I understand he is performing well now. But what message are you sending across the country for so many youngsters. This trend should not be encouraged. If you want a domestic tournament to be as good as Australia’s, then definitely this is not the way forward at all. Imagine some one selects his own kin and magically starts being good (no harm in performance, but what about those who may have proved even better)? The whole issue is not the present performance but the way he was selected. If we have to win matches by taking chances on individuals who is selected on the sole basis of being related to the ‘selector’, then Pakistan cricket will reach new lows.
Are you sure he was selected purely based on the relationship he has with Inzimam?
You are saying that Inzimam saw nothing in him except that he was his relative?
Are you saying that Inzimamm, who is one of the best batsman the country has produced cannot judge a batsman by seeing them play at the domestic level? (Did Imran select Wasim the same way? By seeing him bowl at a practice match?)
Is a layman’s eye for cricketing talent the same as Inzimam, imran and other greats of the game?
If a player is great at what he does and also relative of a selector he should be ignored just because he is related to a selector? or someone in the setup?
How is that merit?
Skills withe bat and bowl at domestic level are not the only thing that makes a successful international player. The ability to handle pressure at the international level is also a skill that most at the domestic level don’t have.
If a player is doing fine stop trying to demoralize them just because they are related to someone on the setup. Imran was also related to people in the setup when he became a cricketer.
Nepotism is unfair and should be eradicated from the game. However, the selectors have one aim: to select players which will perform for the country. They did so with so many other players but failed. Pakistan had a very limited options when it came to openers. Imam’s inclusion even made sense then but I had always been skeptical of his ability to perform, which he did. Hence why I appreciate his nerves of steel for performing even under more pressure mainly because he’s related to Inzamam; this is more than you can say for most players in the side.
Shan Masood can be selected for Shoaib Malik
Muhammad Rizwan can be selected for Sarfraz Ahmed
Aamir can be selected for Imad Wasim (T20 player)
Muhammad Abbas can be selected for Faheem Ashraf
Yasir Shah can be selected for Shadab Khan (SA is also using Imran Tahir)
This is for One Day International (ODIs)
Alternatives are always there, I agree.
Aif Ali should be a part of ODI
Fawad Alam must be included in national team : At lest give him one chance