Out-of-Favour Pakistan Batter Set To Replace Ruturaj Gaikwad In County Championship: Report
The Yorkshire County Cricket Club is set to sign Pakistan opener Imam Ul Haq after Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad pulled out citing personal reasons. Gaikwad had agreed to play five matches for the club in the final leg of the County Championship 2025 season. But the Indian opening batter withdrew earlier this week, citing personal reasons.
'Unfortunately, Gaikwad's not coming now for personal reasons," McGrath was quoted saying by the club in the official statement.
'We're not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. So that's disappointing. I can't tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything's ok. We've literally just found out."
'We're working to try and get a possible replacement, but time pressure is the issue. I can't give you anything more than that at the moment," he added.
Gaikwad would have made his county cricket debut against Surrey on Tuesday. However, the Yorkshire CCC is now looking to rope in Imam as the Indian batter's replacement.
According to thecricketer.com, the county club is actively looking to fill the void left by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain. Hence, they are initiating talks with Pakistan cricket Imam-ul-Haq. However, an official confirmation is yet to be received from Yorkshire CCC.
Imam-ul-Haq isn't a new figure in English county cricket. He had represented Somerset in 2022 in the final four matches and played a key role in helping them avoid relegation. On his County debut, on September 6, 2022, he made an immediate impact with a gritty 90 against Gloucestershire.
Imam has so far played 24 Test matches for Pakistan, scoring 1,568 runs at an average of 37.33. He has three centuries and nine fifties to his name, with a strike rate of 46.06. In first-class cricket, the left-hander has featured in 84 matches, amassing 5,453 runs, including 15 centuries and 25 fifties, with a best score of 202 not out.
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