Imam-ul-Haq Injury Controversy Deepens as PCB Launches Inquiry
The ball had barely stopped swinging at Lord’s before the questions started. Not about Pakistan’s batting collapses or England’s dominance, but about a calf muscle and a batter who never walked out to face a ball in either innings.
Imam-ul-Haq’s injury, picked up on the opening day of the second Test on 27 August while fielding, has now escalated from a medical bulletin to a full-blown controversy that has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board into action.
From scan room to spotlight
The PCB’s first statement sounded routine enough. Scans, they said, had confirmed a low-grade strain to Imam’s left calf. He was under the supervision of Pakistan’s medical staff, receiving treatment, unavailable to bat.
On paper, it was straightforward. On the field, it was anything but.
Across four days at Lord’s, Pakistan unravelled with the bat. Imam, one of their senior openers, never appeared. Not in the first innings. Not in the second. Each collapse sharpened the focus on the absent left-hander.
Then came the images that lit the fuse.
On the fourth day, Imam was seen with heavy strapping on his calf, taking throwdowns. Not grimacing in pain. Not on crutches. Hitting balls. That visual clash – unfit to bat, fit enough to practice – triggered a wave of scepticism from former Pakistan players, some of whom went as far as accusing him of “faking” the injury.
PCB steps in as criticism mounts
Pakistan’s response to the first two Tests has been brutal and swift. After heavy defeats by an innings and 103 runs in the first Test and by 194 runs in the second, the axe fell on seven players, Imam among them, who were sent back home.
But his case will not end with a dropped selection.
“An inquiry will be conducted into this matter,” Auqib Javed, a member of the PCB selection committee, told Geo News, confirming that the board will formally investigate the circumstances around Imam’s absence with the bat.
Javed did not mince his words.
“How is it possible that you failed to come out to bat in both innings after pulling up a muscle?” he asked. “Injuries do occur, and we have seen instances in the past where players — even with casts — have gone out and made an effort. This situation is different. It is a matter of great concern, and action will be taken regarding it.”
Those comments capture the mood around the team: frustration, suspicion, and a demand for answers in a series spiralling out of control.
Legal lines and old suspicions
Inside the dressing room, the temperature has reportedly risen further. A Pakistan team insider, speaking to PTI, painted a stark picture of what awaits the 30-year-old opener.
“Imam is in big trouble, and he is also likely to seek legal counsel when he has to appear to face an inquiry committee of the Board, which will look into his calf muscle injury,” the insider said.
That one sentence underlines how far this has moved beyond a simple fitness issue. The prospect of legal representation hints at a player who feels his integrity is under direct attack and a board bracing for a contentious hearing.
The storm has also dragged an older episode back into the public eye.
Imam’s latest controversy has revived comments from former chief selector Mohammad Wasim, who previously disclosed that then-team physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon had raised concerns over what he viewed as suspicious injury patterns involving Imam during Pakistan’s Test series against England in 2022. Those remarks, which once sounded like background noise in a turbulent period for Pakistan cricket, now sit uncomfortably alongside the current allegations.
From 42 to zero and a series on the line
On the field, Imam’s numbers in this series tell a short, sharp story. He made 42 from 74 balls in the first innings of the opening Test, then fell for a five-ball duck in the second. By the time the teams left Lord’s after the second Test, Pakistan were two down in the three-match series, crushed twice and scrambling for answers.
The third and final Test in Birmingham, starting 9 September, will go ahead without him. Pakistan must somehow rouse themselves for one last fight in England while one of their most recognisable batters prepares to sit in front of an inquiry committee instead of a new-ball attack.
A calf strain has become a flashpoint for trust, professionalism and player-board relations. The next question is no longer just whether Imam will be fit to play.
It is whether he will be trusted to wear the Pakistan shirt again.
