Left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq will leave Yorkshire after the semi-final of the ongoing Metro Bank One-day Cup against Hampshire in Scarborough on Sunday. The in-form batter, who joined the club in July as a partial replacement after Ruturaj Gaikwad pulled out of his contract for personal reasons, was central to Yorkshire’s top finish in the group stages. He scored 583 runs at an incredible average of 97.16. The opening batter’s eight-game stay with the county includes two centuries, in addition to his career-best 159 off 130 balls against Northamptonshire Steelbacks, as well as three half-centuries, making him the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer.
While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hasn’t confirmed it yet, it is understood Imam is in line for a national comeback for the South Africa red-ball series in October. The left-handed batter will return to play the Hanif Mohammad Trophy in September.
“The Yorkshire County Cricket Club can confirm that Imam-ul-Haq’s stint with the Club will be cut short, with the opener set to play his last game on Sunday.
The batter, who has been in scintillating form in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, has been called back to Pakistan for national commitments,” Yorkshire confirmed through their social media.
Team-mate James Wharton said it feels wrong not to have someone like Imam when the team is so near the final.
“He’s been amazing. Obviously the runs he has scored have been superb, we couldn’t have wished for it to go any better,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“He’s a very intelligent man and when you bat with him, it’s amazing to learn off [him] from the other end because he just talks you through it all.
“He’s also really good fun, a very funny man. Cliffy [Ben Cliff] said yesterday that he’s an absolute rock star of a bloke.
“He’s got a million-and-odd followers on Instagram. You don’t quite realise how big of a dog he is, so it’s been amazing to have him with the group.
“It’s gutting because he’s played a massive part in us getting there and it seems wrong that hopefully when we do get to the final he won’t be able to take the field with us, which is a massive shame.”
Imam, who is nephew of former batter Inzamam-ul-Haq, had been a mainstay in Pakistan’s ODI side since his debut until he was dropped following a middling ODI World Cup in India in 2023, where he averaged 27 in six games. He was brought back again for the Champions Trophy in place of injured Fakhar Zaman. Following his solitary Champions Trophy appearance, he played two ODIs in New Zealand but 14 runs across three games since his comeback meant the selectors looked past him in the side’s next ODI series in West Indies last month.
With the Pakistan side seeking a revamp in their top order in Test cricket, he could slot in at one of the opening spots, with Shan Masood’s place increasingly uncertain and the other opener, Mohammad Huraira, not contracted for the ongoing year by the PCB.
