Imam Ul Haq didn't bat in the first innings after suffering a calf strain whole fielding.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad made some interesting comments on Pakistan opener Imam Ul Haq, who didn’t bat in the first innings of the ongoing second Test at Lord’s. Imam suffered a strain to his left calf muscle while fielding on the opening day of the match.
England made 290 runs in the first innings thanks to half-centuries by Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith. Mohammad Abbas took 4/73, while Mohammad Ali took three wickets.
Imam suffered a low-grade calf strain on Day 1 after dropping two important catches while fielding. The next day, after receiving treatment from Pakistan's medical team, he was declared out of the rest of the game, leaving the team without a batter for the duration of the contest.
Pakistan was bowled out for 110 runs, with Azan Awais making 46, while Ollie Robinson picked up four wickets and Jofra Archer took three wickets. Imam didn't come out to bat due to injury and was noted as absent hurt.
England then made 208 runs in their second innings, with Dan Lawrence making 54 runs and Mohammad Abbas taking five wickets. This set Pakistan a target of 389 runs to win the Test and level the series.
Imam was seen knocking a ball around on the sidelines with his left calf heavily taped on Day 4, just before play began. He was hobbling while practicing his batting, and if the team really needed him in the second innings, he might walk out to bat, as per Pakistani team sources.
However, the visual did not sit well with Broad, who accused the batter of putting on an act.
“That’s all for show. He has got a bit of stick from the media and maybe his teammates. Whatever. You can do that inside the indoor school without anyone seeing; you don’t have to come wearing shorts and tape and hobble around like that. I am not impressed with that. Sorry,” Broad said on Sky Sports.
Broad's remarks coincided with prior accusations made by former Pakistan batter and chief selector Mohammad Wasim that Imam had made up or exaggerated injury issues in order to avoid playing.
Wasim recalled a time in 2022 when, before an official announcement, the team physiotherapist informed him during a home test that Imam might have an injury-related problem.
“The physio had actually come to me and told me beforehand. The announcement hadn’t even been made yet, and the decision hadn’t even been made. I think the player hadn’t said anything either. He came and warned me that this was going to happen. And it happened exactly like that. Because of whatever discussions he’d had, he then said that this had happened in the past too, and coaches had complained about similar things,” Wasim Khan told Dr. Nauman Niaz on his YouTube channel.
Notably, Imam Ul Haq made 42 and 0 in the first Test of the series that was played in Leeds.