Imam Ul Haq, Pakistan opener, claimed a rift in the Pakistan dressing room after they suffered a humiliating loss to India in the Asia Cup 2023 tournament. After losing to Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan went on to have a forgettable tournament. They then experienced a humiliating group-stage loss in the T20 World Cup 2024.
With players from both formats dominating the ICC rating tables and dominant white-ball teams, Pakistani cricket has been in upheaval. Imam Ul Haq spoke about the same and tracked it back to the loss to India in the 2023 Asia Cup.
The group-stage match was dominated by Pakistan before it was called off due to weather. They met again in the Super Four stage, where thanks to Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s centuries and Kuldeep Yadav’s fifer, India decimated them by 228 runs to get to the final.
Imam claimed that the Pakistani players were confident in their readiness for the ODI World Cup, which he believed would be a competition that would change his career. However, the Asia Cup served as a hard reality check for the team captained by Babar Azam.
“I heard these rumors every time Pakistan lost a game. But the truth is we didn't play good cricket in the two World Cups. I was hurt personally, and I think people were expecting a lot from us in the ODI World Cup. We were the No. 1 team just three years back. Our top three batters were ranked in the top 5 of the ICC Test Rankings. But then when you don't play well...because we were targeting the India World Cup for a long time. I thought it could have been a life-changing tournament. But suddenly, all changed from that India game in the Asia Cup, and that loss lowered our confidence,” Imam said on the CricWick Podcast.
While Imam didn’t take any names, he recalled seeing lots of Pakistan players in tears and few had locked themselves up in their hotel rooms. He further added that the Pakistan team’s confidence took a huge hit after the loss to India, after effects of which would be seen till the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“A lot of boys were disheartened from there. I heard a lot of them crying during the World Cup; some had stopped smiling and locked themselves up in their hotel rooms. There was also this setback of losing against Afghanistan. So from being the No. 1 team...nothing went like we expected in India. The T20 World Cup came later on, but I think the India World Cup shook our confidence completely. That's when the rumors began again,” he added.
