Imam Ul Haq, Pakistan opener, opened up his statement about ‘protein intake’ that he had made when a journalist asked him about his inability to hit a six in the first ten overs of powerplay in ODIs during the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
The left-hander responded by stating that to hit sixes, he should consume more protein rather than carbohydrates.
“Maybe we want to eat more proteins and less carbs,” Imam had said to the journalist at the time.
Following his statement, his country’s fans savagely mocked him on social media. Many of them questioned his philosophy, sense of humor, and even his role on the squad.
Imam Ul Haq was a member of Pakistan’s Test team that toured Australia last year. However, he was withdrawn from the Bangladesh series lately in favor of another left-handed opener, Saim Ayub.
Imam has been a mainstay in Pakistan’s one-day international team, but he has struggled to preserve his spot in the longer format of cricket. His last one-day international was against South Africa in Chennai during the ODI World Cup 2023.
He had a dismal tournament, scoring 162 runs in six matches with an average of 27 and a strike rate of 90.
‘It was just a joke’- Imam Ul Haq on his protein statement
Imam Ul Haq appeared on a local Pakistani TV show and finally broke his silence about the “protein statement” he issued during the ODI World Cup 2023. He said that his statement was a joke that people on social media misinterpreted, resulting in memes.
“It (the protein statement) was just a joke. He was a Pakistani journalist. The journalist said that we had not hit a six in the (first) ten overs,” Imam said during the show.
My Protien statement was joke: Imam UL Haq pic.twitter.com/nvWhsTxz6H
— ٰImran Siddique (@imransiddique89) October 5, 2024
The left-handed opener also discussed player psychology, stating that it doesn’t matter how he finishes the game, as long as he wins for his country.
“Babar (Azam) has been playing T20s for a long time. Everyone has a mindset. My aim is to win matches for Pakistan. It does not matter whether you take six singles to win a match in the last over or just hit a six. In the end, the result matters,” Imam said.
Imam also admitted that sixes are not achieved solely through muscular building; precise timing is required to hit the ball far. He also agreed that Pakistani cricket requires improvement to compete with the rest of the world.
“Sixes are not hit just by building the muscles. Sixes are hit through timing. Our level needs to go up with the world-level athletes if we want to compete. There is a time when you want some improvement after having played for nearly seven years. Sometimes, you guys think that we are not trying to improve but that’s not right. It’s just about the execution,” Imam mentioned.
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