Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Gavin Hamilton has heaped praise on Imam-Ul-Haq and Yorkshire’s squad, who are turning their season around.
Gavin Hamilton says Yorkshire have “more than struck gold” with the overseas signing of Imam-Ul-Haq.
The experienced Pakistani left-hander, 29, was signed for the final two months of the summer late last month and has started his spell with the club like a house on fire.
Having debuted in the Rothesay County Championship victory over Sussex at Scarborough, scoring 19 in his only innings of the match, he has gone on to post scores of 55, 159 and 117 in a trio of Metro Bank One-Day Cup victories.
His half-century came in the Group B opener against Warwickshire at Scarborough last Tuesday, the 159 was a List A career best at Northampton last Friday before he backed it up with another ton in Tuesday’s victory over Lancashire at York.
General manager of cricket Hamilton has revealed that Imam is without doubt under consideration for a return to the county in 2026.
“It’s possibly a bit early to say anything for definite just yet,” he said, ahead of tomorrow’s latest Group B clash with Somerset at York, starting at 11am.
“But, look, it’s hugely on the radar.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Imam-Ul-Haq has made a stunning start to life in a Yorkshire shirt.
“We also had Abdullah Shafique for a short period of time. And they’ve both been class.
“They’ve shown what old-school batters can do, still attack and play in the modern game. Abdullah scored those two fifties at the back end of the Blast (against Lancashire and Leicestershire), and they’ve both controlled the innings and added some stability.
“I always say this when I speak about overseas players. It’s about building that rapport with these guys. They need to enjoy being here, and it makes those conversations about returning much easier.
“Pending international commitments, depending where Imam and Abdullah are, they’ll definitely be top of the agenda if we’re looking at batters. 100 percent.”
Imam and Shafique are two of six overseas players who have been signed for Yorkshire’s men in 2025; Jordan Buckingham, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears and Will Sutherland the others.
There have been frustrations here and there with injuries and visa issues, including a delay for Imam which prevented him from debuting in the Championship draw against Surrey at Scarborough last month.
But Hamilton said: “I think we’ve probably got one not quite where we wanted to, but we’ve got something out of all the others.”
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Imam-Ul-Haq in action against Lancashire yesterday.
Imam arrived at the club as a late replacement for India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who pulled out of his deal due to personal issues on the day he was due to arrive.
“It was all very quick,” said Hamilton. “Ruturaj pulled out on the Thursday, and we were playing Surrey in the Championship on the following Tuesday. Could we turn it around quick enough.
“As it was, he was available, and we got it all up and running by the Friday night.
“We were told his visa was all sorted, and unfortunately it didn’t quite turn out that way. But, look, I would say that it ended up turning out for the better.
“We had a really good game against Surrey, and I think for him to be around the group and see what we’re about was a really good thing. It enabled him to hit the ground running against Sussex and then obviously into the 50-over stuff.
“He looks so at ease at the crease. He’s good in defence and leaves very well but knows when to attack when he needs to.
“He’s an old-school, modern-day player if that makes sense.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Head coach Anthony McGrath and his players are on course for the One-Day Cup knockouts.
“He’s a great lad as well. Speaking to the players, they love having him around.”
Imam faces his former county Somerset at Clifton Park tomorrow – he represented the Taunton side in three Championship matches towards the end of 2022 – looking to secure his fifth straight win in a Yorkshire shirt.
Starting with the final game of the Blast group stage at Leicestershire on July 18, Yorkshire are six games unbeaten across all competitions, winning five of those.
They currently sit top of the Metro Bank Group B standings and are on course for a top-three finish and knockout cricket. This is the first of five remaining games.
“I’d say that from the Surrey game, there’s been a real shift in mindset,” said Hamilton. “Just the way we’ve gone about our cricket and just the way everyone’s just turned up in the morning.
“The belief has grown from the performance they put in against Surrey.
“Then there was the win against Sussex in the Championship, the scrappy Warwickshire win in the 50-overs. The win at Northampton, you literally can’t put together a better win than that in all departments.
Picture by Steve Bardens/Getty Images. Somerset’s One-Day Cup captain James New has also skippered the England Lions this summer.
“We knew this kind of thing would happen. We were always confident of that. We just thought it would happen a bit sooner than it has done.
“Guys are finding their roles, we’ve not had any injuries recently – touch wood. Things are slowly falling into place. Fingers crossed, it continues.
“The T20 was tough because it all comes thick and fast. By our own admission, it wasn’t good enough. But if we started the T20 campaign again now, I’m sure it would be a different story.”
Somerset have so far played three, won two and lost one in the One-Day Cup. They are captained by up and coming wicketkeeper-batter James Rew, the 21-year-old who was in England’s Test squad for their early-summer clash with Zimbabwe.
His younger brother Thomas, 17, is also a wicketkeeper-batter and is in their team. Both players have started the competition well.
Somerset were beaten by Lancashire at Taunton on Sunday in their last game.