Imam Ul Haq says he's never seen grouping in Pakistan team

Pakistan's opening batsman Imam Ul Haq Friday dismissed the idea of grouping in the national team, saying that he had never observed something like this since his debut seven years ago.  

“I have never seen grouping of any kind in the team. If someone has seen such a thing they should name that this and this player is part of the group,” Imam said expressing his opinion in Geo News show "Haarna Mana Hai".

His comments came in response to the allegations on social media about skipper Babar Azam's backing his favourite bunch of players despite repeated poor show.

Member of the men's team selection committee Wahab Riaz on April 9 opened up on the rumours of grouping that emerged after Babar was reappointed as captain of the white ball game, replacing star pacer Shaheen Afridi.

Addressing the speculations in media over alleged rift between Afridi and Babar, Riaz had said the players were united. He suggested media to take care of various aspects while “breaking” any news of this kind.

"They were united at Iftar, indoor games, watching matches and discussing cricket-related things," he had said in his remarks while apprising media about the players’ routine at the Kakul training camp.

Trolling affects player's ability to perform

Following Pakistan's loss against the US in the T20 World Cup and ongoing criticism toward the players by netizens, Imam said that a cricketer was unable to perform well in the matches because of the trolling on social media.

He remarked on wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan’s suffering from trolling on social media as he has been unable to perform with his bat lately.

Imam, citing Azam's dismal performance in back-to-back matches, said one could not play six games in a row without a good performance as social media warriors instantly blasted it.

He said this in context of the “misperception” among cricket fans that Pakistan were carrying some players on the basis of favouritism as he believed that it was not possible to carry a player longer without performance in the era of social media.

He also said, to a query, that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were two completely different entities and they should be seen as such. “The PSL teams have nothing to do with the PCB,” he added.

Commenting on Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of US, he said the national side’s defeat was a failure of us all.

“It’s our responsibility that we support our team as it’s not end of the world. Pakistan still have to play a high-voltage match against India,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, batsman Ahmed Shehzad opined on Pakistan’s losing their inaugural T20 World Cup match to the US, saying that country's domestic cricket had been ruined.

"When you do not have strong base then such results are inevitable," he said.

Reminding that it was not a one-off event as Pakistan had been defeated by minnows in the past as well, he recommended the management to focus on team’s performance.