Inzamam-ul-Haq justifies the selection of his nephew in Pakistan team

Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has justified the recent selection of his nephew, Imam, in the Pakistani team for the upcoming limited overs series against Sri Lanka. There were many who questioned the selection of Imam in the team ahead of many other players in the domestic circuit. The likes of Fawad Alam, who have been perennial scorers in domestic circuit, have been ignored.

However, as per the quotes in Cricbuzz, Inzamam-ul-Haq, clarified that there were no favoritism while picking up the squad. Selection of Imam has only been because of his consistent performances. Also, he feels that Imam has the talent to play well in the shorter formats too. Lastly, the coach and the skipper were also in favor of picking up Imam in the side.

“If you say that he is my nephew, then the selection was tough. But if you see the performance which he has given, (they’re) good. Our plan was to continue with the Champions trophy squad, but unfortunately Azhar Ali has a knee problem. So we needed one opener, and in my opinion (Imam’s) was the best performance amongst the openers,” quoted Inzamam-ul-Haq.

“Look, you have to notice the talent and what he can do. His performance was good in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Then he scored two hundreds for the Under-23 team in the triangular tournament in Bangladesh. He scored a hundred in Sialkot. Even Mickey (Arthur) and Sarfraz (Ahmed) gave (their) opinions. We all consult each other,” quoted the Chief Selector.

On Umar Akmal’s fortune

Commenting on the fortunes of discarded batsman Umar Akmal, Inzamam-ul-Haq mentioned that the doors are not yet closed on Akmal. Akmal was sidelined from the team due to fitness concerns prior to the commencement of the Champions Trophy earlier this year. After that, it was his outburst against coach Mickey Arthur that brought a lot of infamy to him.

“I have not spoken to him after the ban, but I tried to make him understand a few things previously. We can’t shut the door on any player. His issue is fitness and now another issue is discipline. He needs to improve on these issues and then he will be considered,” conceded Inzamam.