No off-season for Imam-ul-Haq

Pakistan opener is currently taking part in a training camp in Lahore

June 14, 2023
Imam-ul-Haq has played 81 international matches for Pakistan - AFP

LAHORE: Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq opened up about his training routine during the ongoing camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

While speaking to Geo News on Wednesday, Imam said that there is no off-season for him.

“Be it Test or ODI, there is no difference in my training routine. There is also no off-season for me since I continue gym training even when there are no matches. If I leave gym training and eat something out of the ordinary, I gain weight very quickly,” Imad said.

The left-hander also shed light on next month’s two-match Test series against Sri Lanka away from home.

“We are training in the camp while keeping in mind the conditions in Sri Lanka. I’m practicing a lot to improve my sweep shot,” he said.

Imam also spoke about the Asia Cup and World Cup later this year.

“I’m not thinking about the Asia Cup or World Cup at the moment since there still some time left before those events. I don’t want to put pressure on myself by thinking about those tournaments right now,” he concluded.

It must be noted that 13 spinners and 11 fast bowlers are taking part in a specialised men’s camps at the National Cricket Academy. 14 batters will also be involved in the two camps that will run from June 10-15 (for spinners) and June 16-21 (for fast bowlers).

The camps will allow selectors to form the squad for Pakistan’s Test series in Sri Lanka, which will be national side’s first assignment in the third cycle of the World Test Championship.

The following is the list of invited players:

Spinners – Abrar Ahmed, Ali Asfand, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Mohammad Junaid, Mehran Mumtaz, Mubasir Khan, Noman Ali, Qasim Akram, Sajid Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usama Mir and Zahid Mehmood

Fast bowlers - Aamir Jamal, Arshad Iqbal, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani

Batters – Abdullah Shafique, Haris Sohail, Haseebullah, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Huraira, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Tayyab Tahir

Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.

Comments