Had meals alone, cried in the shower: imam on nepotism accusations

"I remember crying in the shower for hours that I haven't even played yet. It's very easy for young players to get surrounded by self-doubt. The only thing running constantly

in my mind was that I haven't even played [for the national team] yet, what if I play and don't perform well? Then my career will be over. I wouldn't step a foot out of my

room, fearing people might trouble me outside, because there is a large Pakistan community in Dubai." Imam played the third match of the series. "We were living in Dubai, and from

there we had to travel to Abu Dhabi on the match-day, which is a two-hour drive. So we had to leave around 11am-12pm for the match and I got his (Arthur's) message at around 9.30am,

which I still remember, ‘Immy, it's your time, be ready and good luck,'" said Imam. "After that, I don't remember anything. My mind was completely blank. I was

hoping he hadn't messaged me. He shouldn't have. Because my confidence had hit the rock-bottom and I was feeling so low that I felt I won't be able to perform in the match.

"I was focussing less on the match and more on what would happen after. What if I couldn't perform? My career will get badly affected and everyone will say they were right to

criticise me. Because the media was only discussing my inclusion in the side." Imam went on to score a century in that match, thus becoming the second Pakistani batsman to score a ton

on debut.