Wasim Akram believes Imam-ul-Haq is under undue pressure

Voicing his support for opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq, Pakistan legendary fast bowler and former captain, Wasim Akram, has said that the youngster is under ‘undue pressure’ despite performing at the international level.

“There is an undue pressure on Imam, he is a talented kid,” said Wasim, while talking to local media. “Recommendations cannot work at this stage, as we are talking about the Pakistan cricket team. Imam has come through a system, he has performed at U19, in domestic and even in South Africa, where nobody performed except Babar [Azam],” said Wasim.

Being a relative of Pakistan cricket chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, Imam is always under the radar and is trolled by fans as he is considered a product of nepotism in Pakistan cricket.

“There is just unjustified pressure on Imam, he is a young guy, who is a good fielder and a team man, and he is only going to get better,” added Akram. The opening batsman played a blistering knock of 86 runs against Proteas in the first ODI, and is just 95 runs short of reaching 1,000 runs in ODI.

Talking about the selection process, the former captain informed that nowadays one needs to carry on with the squad, and will only make change if necessary, otherwise there won’t be any consistency.

With the series 1-0, Pakistan will now face off against South Africa in the second ODI of the series in Durban on Tuesday, January 22.