Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq is under intense scrutiny as the Pakistan Cricket Board launches a full inquiry into his suspicious calf muscle injury and the team's recent poor performance in England.
Key Points
- Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq returned home from England following a controversial calf muscle injury.
- The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has initiated an inquiry into Imam-ul-Haq's injury and the team's performance.
- Imam-ul-Haq faces scrutiny due to past allegations of faking injuries during previous tours.
- The PCB took drastic action, sending seven players home and replacing coaches mid-tour after heavy defeats.
- The inquiry will also investigate other dressing room issues within the Pakistan cricket team.
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq, one of the seven Pakistan players to be sent back home after the team's heavy defeats to England in two Tests, made a quiet and low-profile return from London on Tuesday.
The defeats at Leeds and Lords, and the backlash on the team's performances prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take the drastic measure of not only changing seven players but also replacing the head coach and bowling coach of the touring squad midway through the tour.
PCB Investigates Imam-ul-Haq's Injury Claims
Inside information gathered from the PCB and team sources say that it was the injury issue with Imam and the nonchalant attitude of Muhammad Rizwan which eventually triggered the Board's strong reaction.
"Imam is in big trouble and he is also likely to seek legal counsel when he has to appear to face an inquiry committee of the Board which will look into his calf muscle injury which didn't allow him to bat in both innings of the second Test," one insider said.
There has been speculation on whether Imam faked his injury or not but the team management had issued a statement on the second day of the second Test announcing he had sustained a calf muscle injury which later turned out to be a tear while fielding on the first day of the match.
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Past Allegations And Board's Drastic Actions
What has got Imam into hot waters was that chief selector Muhammad Wasim has publicly confirmed that former team physio Cliffe Deacon had informed him about the opening batter's suspicious injury patterns in 2022 during a Test series against England.
More damning has been how the mainstream media has played up a inquiry committee report of the PCB from last year in which the panel had found Imam guilty of faking a toe injury while touring New Zealand.
All this has led to the PCB deciding to hold an inquiry into the team performances, Imam's injury and other dressing room issues when the players return home later this month from England.
But one source said the fact that the PCB didn't even wait for the third and final Test to finish and took the drastic measure of sending senior players home indicates something has gone wrong behind the scenes in Pakistan cricket and might have triggered the action.
Imam, who is also the nephew of former captain and batting great Inzamam-ul-Haq, has appeared in 31 Tests, 75 ODIs and two T20 Internationals in a Pakistan career that began in 2017.
