Imam-ul-Haq wants to follow the footsteps of his uncle, Inzamam

Inzamam-ul-Haq was arguably one of Pakistan’s modern-day great with some incredible knocks in his career. Pakistan’s latest talent Imam-ul-Haq wants to follow the very large footsteps of his uncle, who he has admired.

Unlike his uncle, Imam did not waste any match to get started to live up to his reputation with a ton on his One-day International debut against the depleted Sri Lankan bowling attack. The century in Abu Dhabi made him the second Pakistani and the 13th batsman in the world to achieve this feat.

Early start:

In his youth days, Imam would receive words of advice from his uncle, on his stance and posture. Imam, against his mother’s wish with the help of his father, skipped schooling and went on to represent the country at a very young age in the 2014 Juniors World Cup.

However, he did not stop there and went on to add a couple of more centuries in the Under-23 Emerging Cup while shining in the Domestic tournament back home.

“I am proud to score a hundred on debut,” said Imam, now 22. “When I was told that I achieved the honour of scoring a debut hundred I felt more proud to do this feat for my country.”

Inzamam’s influence has shaped his career:

With the century against Sri Lanka, Imam became the second Pakistani after Saleem Elahi to hit a century on his debut after the latter had scored it in the year 1995 against the same opposition.

Imam’s style of play and stance has had an uncanny resemblance to his uncle’s. His stocky body and a chubby face resemble his uncle, who once infamously hit a spectator after being addressed as a potato.

“Inzi uncle has been a great influence. Whenever I need help in batting he gives me time and always tells me to be positive, play brave cricket and believe in destiny,” said Imam.

The only difference between the duo would be, that Imam is a left-handed and wears spectacles while his uncle was a right-handed batsman.

“It’s not my fault that I am his nephew,” Imam said. “I can’t help that. The best for me is to answer my critics with my bat, and I have done that,” he concluded.