Pakistan top-order batter Imam-ul-Haq has reacted after not being included in the national team’s squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to begin on 19 February.
The name of Imam was being discussed in the media as a potential inclusion to Pakistan’s squad following the ankle injury of young opening batter Saim Ayub during the tour of South Africa.
However, the selectors chose to include Fakhar Zaman as the sole specialist opener in the Champions Trophy squad. Fakhar will be joined by either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, who are middle-order batters, at the top of the batting order.
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After the squad announcement, Imam-ul-Haq took to his official Instagram account to express his disappointment, hoping that his journey is not over and that he will continue to work hard.
“Not the outcome I expected, but the journey isn’t over. This is how life is—it’s all about growth and getting stronger with every hurdle. Patience and trust in Allah is the key!” he wrote.
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Imam played his last of 72 ODIs against South Africa during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. He has scored 3,138 runs at an impressive average of 48.27, featuring nine centuries and 20 half-centuries.
Meanwhile, his last international match was the Boxing Day Test against Australia in December 2023 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Pakistan Squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)(c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Saud Shakeel, Naseem Shah, Tayyab Tahir, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Hasnain, Usman Khan, Haris Rauf.
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