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'Call Me 'Parchi' In Front Of My Parents': Imam-ul-Haq On Nepotism Accusations

image-llrirdo8Imam-ul-Haq is the nephew of the legendary Inzamam-ul-Haq 

Pakistan opener, Imam-ul-Haq recently expressed the emotional strain he faced due to persistent allegations of nepotism at the start of his international cricket career. The southpaw’s distress was highlighted by the fact that his parents haven't watched him play at a venue even once, mainly due to fears of public derision.


Imam-ul-Haq opened up on battling persistent nepotism taunts

Imam made a remarkable entry into international cricket in 2017, scoring a century against Sri Lanka on his debut. However, the presence of his uncle and legendary cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq on the selection panel at that time led to a flurry of accusations about Imam's place being secured through nepotism rather than merit.

During his conversation on Daniyal Sheikh’s podcast, Imam spoke about the challenges he faced. He shared incidents where he was referred to as "parchi", a local term hinting at nepotism, even during casual outings with his family. 

The Multan-born cricketer reckoned that these experiences have deeply affected him and made him reluctant to expose his family to such public scorn. He further recounted the distressing instances when strangers would approach him during meals, mocking him with the nepotism tag in the presence of his loved ones.

“When I used to go out to dinner with my family, they would come up and call me parchi in front of my parents. I would be sitting at Nando’s with my family, and there would be young students quipping ‘look, the parchi is sitting there',”  said Imam.



Imam revealed that due to these persistent taunts, his parents refrained from attending matches to support him. He expressed his discomfort with the idea of his mother hearing the derogatory term while he's on the field.

“My parents want to watch me play, but they have not seen me play at a venue even once. Even I don’t want them to. I don’t want my mother hear someone utter parchi when I am fielding on the boundary,” added the dynamic batter.

Highlighting the depth of the impact, Imam also shared that it was only in 2022 that his sister managed to watch him play live. He went on to describe the absence of his family during his matches due to these allegations as "mental torture".