Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai
Imam-ul-Haq is likely to open for Pakistan in the marquee Champions Trophy fixture against India on Sunday. According to sources in the know, the southpaw, a replacement for the injured Fakhar Zaman, is being considered by the team management to partner Babar Azam at the top, notwithstanding that Usman Khan is the designated reserve opener in the side.
If indeed Imam is preferred, that would be harsh on Usman, who played all his early cricket in the UAE before switching his allegiance to Pakistan, the country of his birth. All said and done, team selections in international matches are never linear.
After playing the Champions Trophy opener in Karachi on February 19, the Pakistan team travelled to Dubai on Thursday for their game against India. Imam didn’t come with the squad. He was playing a domestic match instead, where he scored a century. Before that, he had made 98 off 94 for Pakistan Shaheens in a Champions Trophy warm-up game against Bangladesh. He joined the squad here on Friday.
Imam is an experienced batter, with 24 Tests and 72 ODIs under his belt. But somehow, he wasn’t included in the Champions Trophy squad and was kept as a stand-by.
After losing against New Zealand, the India game on Sunday has become a win-or-bust affair for Pakistan, who are the tournament hosts. Losing to the arch-rivals will effectively knock Pakistan out of the Champions Trophy. Maybe, the magnitude of the occasion is forcing the team management to rely on Imam’s experience. His recent form, too, has obviously been taken into account.
Losing Fakhar is a big blow for Pakistan, for he is a rare impact player in this batting line-up who can take the game away from the opposition on his day. The video footage of the opener breaking down in the dressing room that went viral, was filled with sadness.
Pakistan’s nets session at the ICC Academy on Friday barely offered any clue about their batting line-up for the big game. They actually started in the reverse order, with Shaheen Shah Afridi starting the proceedings with the bat.
The onus, though, remains on Babar after his snooze-fest against New Zealand — a 90-ball 64.