Champions Trophy 2025: Former Indian cricketer mocks Imam-ul-Haq

Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu mocks Pakistan's opening batter Imam-ul-Haq for his brief stay at the crease during the high-octane India-Pakistan clash in Dubai on Sunday.

Imam was dismissed after attempting a quick single off Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery.

Stepping down the wicket, he played the ball straight to Axar Patel at mid-on, who executed a direct hit at the stumps, leaving Imam no chance to reach the non-striker’s end.

In a recent interview, Sidhu criticised Imam’s decision-making, emphasizing the difference between domestic and international cricket.

“This is international cricket, not a domestic match. No matter how many runs you score in domestic cricket, international cricket is a different ball game. He made the mistake of challenging Axar Patel’s arm, and Axar is lightning-fast. The run was never on,” Sidhu remarked.

At the time of filing this report, Pakistan were 151-3 in the Champions Trophy clash, having lost key wickets of Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq.

Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel steadied the innings with a crucial 100-run partnership, with Saud registering his fourth ODI fifty to keep the scoreboard ticking.

However, it was Axar Patel with the ball who broke the crucial 104-run stand, dismissing Rizwan for 46 off 77 deliveries, which included just three boundaries.

For context, hosts and defending champions Pakistan had a rough start to their campaign, losing their opening match by 60 runs against New Zealand in Karachi.

Meanwhile, India began their tournament on a high note, defeating Bangladesh, thanks to a sublime knock from Shubman Gill.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.