Pakistan set to launch inquiry over what player did before being sent home from England tour

The Pakistan Cricket Board 'must' hold an inquiry into opening batter Imam-ul-Haq after he was sent home from the England Test tour, their director of performance has stated.

Imam was one of seven players who were sent home from the tour after Pakistan lost by 194 runs in the second Test at Lord's. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also relieved of their duties.

Pakistan's tour of England thus far has been categorised by a series of batting failures, having failed to reach 200 in any of their four innings. They lost the first Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs.

Aside from the ever-reliable Mohammad Abbas, their seam bowling contingent has lacked potency. Naseem Shah - who has not played a Test since December 2024 - and Shaheen Shah Afridi have both been left at home and there has been little explanation as to their current situations.

Salman Ali Agha, who was named as captain for the first Test before being dropped at Lord's, is among the seven players sent home by the PCB.

Spinner Ali Usman - who took a five-wicket haul at Headingley - as well as Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Jafar have also been dropped from the squad.

And wicket-keeper Muhammad Rizwan, who averages 15.25 across the series but has been a near ever-present for Pakistan across formats, is the final player to have been sent home.

The departure from the squad of Imam was not necessarily a surprise. He suffered a grade 1 tear to his calf during the Lord's Test and didn't bat in either innings.

Footage of the 30-year-old warming up on the Lord's outfield showed him lifting his leg, which was heavily taped, while playing defensive strokes - which caught the eye of legendary England bowler turned Sky Sports pundit Stuart Broad ahead of day four.

"That is all for show," Broad stated. "He's had a bit of stick from the media, maybe team-mates, whatever.

"You can do that in an indoor school without anyone seeing you. You don't have to wear shorts and a bit of tape and hobble around like that. I'm sorry, I'm not that impressed with that."

Broad was even more scathing on live commentary, stating: "The news we have is that Imam-ul-Haq has a sore calf. Well, a sore calf doesn't allow you not to bat at all."

'Deep disappointment...' - PCB director on Imam-ul-Haq

Javed, who played 22 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan between 1988 and 1998 and is now the PCB's director of performance, has described the situation surrounding Imam's injury as a 'deep disappointment' and says he could face consequences.

"The Imam injury is a big question mark, and a deep disappointment," he is quoted as telling Pakistani private news channel Geo TV.

"Players in the past used to get injuries, but they used to put on casts and still tried.

"We'll take action against this. How is it possible that a pulled muscle ruled you out of batting in both innings? We should have tried and fought.

"He'll have to face an inquiry; I can't say he faked it, but a muscle pull like that cannot stop you from batting altogether."

SPORTbible have contacted Imam-ul-Haq's representatives for comment.

Javed then savaged the decision-making process behind Pakistan's XI at Lord's, adding: "Someone had to take action. The world is laughing at us because we can't even compete.

"The message we're sending to the recalled players is that you have to raise your game on important tours and compete, and we should be able to see some effort."