Aaqib Javed tears into Imam-ul-Haq after Lord's absence: ‘He should have tried and fought’

Pakistan’s crisis-ridden tour of England has taken another extraordinary turn, with PCB director of high performance Aaqib Javed publicly questioning the seriousness of Imam-ul-Haq’s injury and declaring that the opener will face an inquiry after failing to bat in either innings of the second Test at Lord’s.

Pakistan’s 194-run defeat at Lord’s had already triggered a sweeping overhaul. Seven players, including Imam, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, were recalled from the tour, while head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also removed from their roles. Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s white-ball coach, has been handed charge of the Test side ahead of the third and final match at Edgbaston.

The upheaval followed two comprehensive defeats. Pakistan lost the opening Test by an innings and 103 runs before being beaten again at Lord’s, surrendering the series with a match still to play. Amid the fallout, Misbah-ul-Haq also offered his resignation from the national selection committee.

It is against that backdrop that Aaqib has now turned the spotlight firmly on Imam. Speaking on Geo News’ programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Aaqib said he was deeply disappointed (as quoted by ESPNCricinfo) that a low-grade calf injury had prevented the opener from making any contribution with the bat at Lord’s.

“The Imam injury is a big question mark, and a deep disappointment,” Aaqib said. “Players in the past used to get injuries, but they used to put on casts and still tried. We'll take action against this. How is it possible that a pulled muscle ruled you out of batting in both innings? He should have tried and fought. He'll have to face an inquiry; I can't say he faked it, but a muscle pull like that cannot stop you from batting altogether.”

Imam had sustained the injury to his left calf while fielding on the opening day at Lord’s. The PCB subsequently said scans had confirmed a low-grade strain and that his further participation in the Test would depend on his recovery under the supervision of the medical team.

He did not bat in either innings, leaving Pakistan effectively a batter short as their batting line-up struggled badly against England. Aaqib’s criticism went beyond Imam, however. He argued that Pakistan’s team management had failed to make necessary changes to the combination despite concerns being communicated to captain Babar Azam and the coaching staff.

“Two Test matches have come and gone, and the team has not competed in any way,” Aaqib said. “There's one Test still to go. They had a pace allrounder available, a second wicketkeeper, a fast bowler in Ubaid Shah. But those decisions were not being made. I spoke to the captain and coach and asked them to put Ubaid in because the other bowlers are all similarly paced.”

Aaqib was equally forthright about Pakistan’s batting composition and the decision to persist with Rizwan.

“No batter in our top seven bowls. We should have included an allrounder, but most importantly, get in Ubaid Shah, who bowls close to 140kph. One fast bowler changes the composition of your attack,” he said.