Pakistan opening batter Imam-ul-Haq became a target of trolls on social media after he came up with a bizarre reason behind the Men in Green batter's inability to hit sixes, especially in powerplay. When quizzed about the lack of sixes, Imam came with a hilarious reply and urged his teammates to focus on eating more proteins than carbs. Imam's answer came to a question asked by a reporter during the press conference ahead of the match against Afghanistan.
"Maybe we want to eat more proteins and not that much carbs, but it is just that there is nothing we want to talk about. It is just we really do not feel it if we are not hitting six or not four, it is just that what are we doing for the team," Imam said.
The social media went on an overdrive with fans trolling Imam for his bizarre statement.
Meanwhile, Imam remains confident in his team's ability to recover from their recent setbacks as they approach a crucial phase in their World Cup 2023 campaign. Pakistan is scheduled to face Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday, October 23, in their fifth match of the tournament.
In their upcoming match against Afghanistan, Pakistan anticipates a spin-friendly pitch in Chennai, posing a different challenge. Nonetheless, Imam is confident that Pakistan can effectively handle the spin threat and get their World Cup campaign back on track.
"We have played 4 matches and we are 2-2. We are confident. We will accept that we did not play well in the last 2 matches. We will have to perform up to the mark. It matters a lot how you play on the given day. You can talk as much as you want. But it matters how you play on the day. We have talked about it. You will see a new team tomorrow in Chennai," Imam told the press in Chennai on Sunday.
Pakistan initiated their World Cup journey with victories over the Netherlands and a record-breaking chase against Sri Lanka. However, they faced a significant setback when they were defeated by arch-rivals India by seven wickets in a highly anticipated match in Ahmedabad on October 14. Following this defeat, Pakistan had a five-day break to regroup, but they were met with another challenge in a high-scoring contest against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, where they fell short in their pursuit of a 368-run target.
During the match against Australia, Pakistan's openers, Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique, both scored fifties, but they were unable to convert them into substantial innings, and the form of captain Babar Azam came under scrutiny.
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