‘Did he come out and bat after all this??’ – Warner questions Imam-ul-Haq’s absence during Lord’s Test

Imam-ul-Haq has been one of the major points of discourse after Pakistan’s 194-run loss to England in the second Test at Lord’s, which saw them lose the series as well. The southpaw opener suffered a calf injury while fielding during the first day and did not come out to bat in either innings for his side. 

A video of Imam taking knocks while balancing on his intact leg emerged during the third day, which was initially displayed on the official broadcast. The act irked former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who was scathing in his criticism of the Pakistan batter’s antics and inability to step up for his team. 

“That’s all for show. He has got a bit of stick from the media and maybe his teammates. Whatever. You can do that inside the indoor school without anyone seeing; you don’t have to come wearing shorts and tape and hobble around like that. I am not impressed with that. Sorry,” Broad said on Sky Sports.

Adding further fuel to the fire, former Australian opener David Warner also questioned Imam’s motives. Replying to the video of the Pakistan batter on X (formerly Twitter), Warner questioned whether he had come out to bat after being seen taking knocks.

Speaking of the match, Pakistan conceded totals of 290 and 208 after electing to field first. They were unable to offer much resistance with the bat either, managing scores of just 110 and 194 in their batting innings. Mohammad Abbas was one of the few standouts from the match, picking up nine wickets, which included his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s. Saud Shakeel’s 97 in Pakistan’s second innings was another fighting performance for the visitors. Captain Babar Azam notched up single-digit scores of 8 and 6 across both innings of the game. The third and final Test will get underway on September 9 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.