In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Imam-ul-Haq spoke about his background and development as a cricketer including the motivation provided by his uncle as well as his teams preparations for the ICC U19 World Cup tournament.

By Nimra Ishtiaq (10th August, 2012)

 

The ICC U19 World Cup, due to take place in Queensland, promises to bring to fore, a rich feast of the world’s best young cricketing talent. Apart from squads from the established cricketing nations, teams from Associate member nations are also likely to provide stiff competition. With 2 World Cup titles to their name and considered as one of the hot favourites to win this edition of the ICCs premier U19 tournament, the Pakistan U19 squad have been on tour of Australia prior to the start of the World Cup where they have played warm up games against the U19 sides from Australia, England and Papua New Guinea.

Whilst the warm up games have yielded a satisfactory outcome with a 2-1 victory against Australia and loss against England, observers and fans have nonetheless been overawed by some individual performances from some of the youngsters making their first World Cup appearance for Pakistan.

One of Pakistan’s most promising talents, Imam-ul-Haq, who is the nephew of the Ex Pakistan captain and batting maestro, Inzamam-ul-haq, first announced himself to the world of cricket in the U19 Asia Cup in 2012, averaging 45 from 5 games including 3 consecutive fifties and 88 in his first game against India, as Pakistan went on to share the trophy with their neighbours. Further good performances against Australia just prior to the World Cup have shown he has the ability to adapt to the conditions, as he scored 39, 30* and 77 in the 3 games against the home side with a handsome 79 against England in the next warm up game.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Imam-ul-Haq spoke about his background and development as a cricketer including the motivation provided by his uncle as well as his teams preparations for the ICC U19 World Cup tournament.

Imam-ul-Haq’s affection for cricket was undoubtedly ignited by watching his uncle in action for the national side and later reinforced by the constant encouragement provided by the Pakistani great.

“My interest in cricket developed because of my uncle (Inzamam-ul-Haq) obviously. I used to watch my uncle play for Pakistan for such a long period of time. That's where the passion grew from - I always wanted to be like him. He has always encouraged me. He has always given me a lot of confidence - always encourages me, and motivates me telling me that I can do it. He even contacted me here to give me words of advice!”

Whilst his passion for cricket may have been a by product of his admiration for his uncle, young Imam continued his quest to play cricket with unmitigated zeal whilst ensuring that his education was not affected, earning a call up at Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) and then was “discovered” in the Mobilink “Hunt for heroes” talent identification scheme. This is his first year in the U19 system in Pakistan and Imam is obviously enjoying the experience.

“It is very tough to manage studies and cricket simultaneously, but it's not impossible. I used to go to the NCA for training in the morning, then I used to have a net session and after returning home, I would study for an hour or so. Later, in Lahore, I took part in the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes (Under-16). This is my first year at the Under-19 level. I play for PIA Under-19s alongside my current Pakistan Under-19 team mates Faraz Ali, Zia-ul-Haq and Salman Afridi. Having team mates that you have known from before is always helpful. We've played together for PIA and now we're here for the Pakistan Under-19s. But even those who were not our team mates at PIA are all good friends.”

With all eyes now firmly focussed on the group stages of the ICC U19 World Cup, Imam was full of praise for his team mates and expressed his confidence in his fellow teammates and management whom he believes have provided just the right kind of environment and guidance to help him settle in and build innings in matches

“All of our bowlers have different variations in their bowling. All of them have the wicket-taking ability. I can't really single out a bowler who I think is difficult to face as a batsman. As for our management, our coach [Sabih Azhar] is giving all of us a lot of confidence. Personally speaking, I'm having a problem in converting my 70s and 80s into hundreds. In Asia Cup too, I had the same problem. I got out on 88, then got 70 against Afghanistan and 56 against Malaysia. I tend to lose my patience. Sabih always tells me that my first 30 runs are always good, however, I tend to lose my concentration and patience during the next 30. So he tells me to stay focused once I have settled in and try to convert my starts into big scores, which will prove to be helpful for the team. As for conditions in Australia, batting in the first ten overs is quite difficult on these wickets. But once you have got your eye in, it becomes relatively easier to score.”

Pakistan may have lifted the trophy twice but the fact remains that on their day, anyone of the top 5 teams are able to turn tables on each other and win this prestigious tournament. The recent England victory by 5 wickets against Pakistan in a warm up game serves as a stern reminder against over confidence. This fact is not lost on Imam who is clear about how Pakistan and other teams need to approach these games.

“Australia and England are good sides. But I think England is better as they have some fine batsmen as well as good fast bowlers. Australia is always a tough opposition for Pakistan. We cannot really take any opposition lightly. God-willing if we qualify for the quarterfinals, we will be up against all the good sides.”

With the weight of expectations of the nation on their shoulders, the young men from Pakistan will be feeling the pressure. However, in Iman’s view, the opportunity to represent their nation at the U19 level with an eye towards a place in the senior squad at a future stage may well prove to be a driving force towards excellence in this tournament

“I will try my best to perform in this World Cup, which is a really good opportunity not only for me, but for all the players. I really don't think we have any extra pressure of expectations on us. We are here to win the World Cup and we will try our best to do that. We don't really feel any extra pressure of the fact that Pakistan has a very fine past record at the U19 World Cup. Our aim is to play for Pakistan at the highest level. That is the reason why we are playing at the U19 level. We just have to move step by step.”