Young Pakistan opening batsman Inamul Haq has admitted that his relation with the Chief Selector Inzamaul Haq has added pressure on him

While talking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, the 23-year-old said that nothing would make him happier to see the back of the current selection committee.

“It is quite difficult to remove the tag of my uncle being the head of the selection committee,” said Imam. “To be honest, I will be more than happy if my uncle-led selection committee departed.”

Imam added that the decision regarding his selection in the side is not solely down to his uncle.

“He [Inzamamul Haq] doesn’t make the decision about selecting me,” he said.  “He leaves it to Head Coach Mickey Arthur, Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and our batting coach.”

The left-hander also spoke about his good track record in ODI cricket despite the criticism by saying: “Honestly, despite that all criticism, I’m averaging over 63 in ODIs and I’m only just over 200 runs away from becoming the fastest to reach 1000-run mark in the 50-over format. It is impossible in cricket to perform in every single game but that is not the case for me because I’m expected to perform in every single game. I failed in two or three innings against New Zealand and all of a sudden everyone started talking about dropping me from the team.”

Talking about his goals for the upcoming tour of South Africa, Imam — who has represented Pakistan in seven Tests and 16 ODIs — said his primary objective will be to register his first century in the five-day format.

“I have played seven Tests so far. I had an opportunity to score a hundred against Australia but unfortunately I got out on 84. This would be the first thing I would love to do in South Africa,” he said.

Giving his views about facing the Proteas’ pace attack which will includes the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn in challenging conditions, the Lahore-born opener said the focus will be on doing the basics right.

“To be honest, we haven’t prepared any special plans for them,” he said. “It is just the same as we toured England. There, we faced Anderson and Broad. Obviously, Rabada and Steyn are good bowlers. They don’t give too much room to batsmen. It is difficult to score against them, but we will try to do basics right.”

Talking about the secret of success in the longest format of the game, Imam said temperament is the key for players who wants to perform well in red-ball cricket, and also believes that five-day format is the toughest form.

“Test cricket is quite difficult than ODIs or T20Is,” he said. “Here you cannot make a mistake. It is a test of temperament unlike in limited-overs cricket. The bowler keeps on attacking and no matter how good you are there is always a chance of making a mistake.”

While talking about representing Pakistan in T20 cricket, the left-hander believes his opportunity will come, but it might take some time.

“At this moment, Zaman and Azam are doing great in T20I cricket,” he said. “I’ve a good average and strike-rate in domestic cricket while playing this format. So I’m waiting for my opportunity, when it comes I will be ready to grab it with both hands.”