PAK vs WI | Imam-ul-Haq makes big claims, says he's not overthinking about selection

Pakistan opening batter Imam-ul-Haq on Monday (May 16) said that his job is to perform without overthinking about the selection.

The first phase of the conditioning camp started on May 16 at the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) in Lahore. Talking to the media during the conditioning camp at the NHPC, Imam said that playing cricket during Covid-19 was extremely tough and also expressed his delight in the Covid-19 restrictions getting removed. However, he added that hot weather must not be used to excuse underperforming.

"Thankfully, the situation has improved, and things are slowly going back to normal. Everyone is enjoying training even more, including myself. Hopefully, this will continue, and things don't deteriorate any further as they did before," Imam-ul-Haq said in a press briefing.

Due to the scorching weather, which is expected to further intensify in June, training has been difficult in the hot and humid conditions. Still, Imam feels that training in these conditions will strengthen the body of the players who will take part in the three-match ODI series against West Indies.

"There is a lot of cricket to be played shortly. Training in these conditions will help us strengthen our bodies even further. As representatives of the country, hot conditions should not be used as an excuse, and we have to do our best to prepare ourselves for such testing times as well," Imam added.

The opening batter also talked about his position in the team and said it is up to the management to make decisions regarding which formats he should play for his country.

"My job is to perform to the best of my abilities and avail any chances that are given to me. Rest is up to the selection committee and the team management; they will always be in a better position to assess which formats should I play in," he concluded.

Imam was in a terrific run of form in the home series against Australia. In Pakistan's last ODI series, the 26-year-old was named the Man of the Series for scoring two hundreds in three games. Overall in 49 ODIs, Imam has scored 2321 runs at a remarkable average of 54.0 in the 50-over format.

Pakistan and West Indies are scheduled to play three-match ODI series in Rawalpindi on June 8, 10, and 12.