Not my fault that I am Inzamam-ul-Haq’s nephew: Imam-ul-Haq

Charges of nepotism are not new in public life in this part of the world. Cricket, too, witnesses such charges often and young Pakistani opener Imam-ul-Haq is often in the headlines for being related to former captain and current chief selector of Pakistan Inzamam-ul-Haq. For the 22-year-old, the pressure while representing his nation becomes all the more high because of this reason and he chooses to deal with it through his performance.

Imam made his international debut in October last year and has played just three Tests and nine ODIs so far scoring 681 runs. However, the man has shown his mettle in the ODIs as he has already scored four centuries in nine games. He slammed a ton on his debut match against Sri Lanka last year and hit three of them in the five-match series against Zimbabwe in July. He averages 68 in the 50-over format and 34.25 in Tests. His only fifty in Tests so far has come in his debut match which was against Ireland in Dublin in May.

In first-class cricket, Imam averages 35.51 with the highest score of 200 not out while in List ‘A’ games, he averages 40.27 with five centuries.

Media unnecessarily criticises me

“I confess the media unnecessarily criticises me, but I have silenced them with my performance before and will continue to do so,” Geo TV quoted Imam as saying.

“When I scored a double century in the final for HBL, the media wasn’t on my side. When I scored for Pakistan A against Bangladesh, the media was nowhere. When I was selected for the national team, I was called Inzamam’s nephew. When I scored my first century it was called a chance.”

“When I helped the team win the Test match against Ireland in Dublin, the media didn’t say anything. When I scored three centuries against Zimbabwe, I was told not to make a big deal about it because Zimbabwe is weaker side,” the bespectacled Imam said, revealing his frustration for not being recognised despite a consistent performance with the bat.

When asked about the pressure that he faces for being related to the legendary Pakistani batsman, Imam said: “It is not my fault that I am related to him.”

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