Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq has revealed that a number of his teammates had been left in tears after the marquee clash against India at the 2023 Asia Cup, where they were thrashed by a whopping 228 runs. He added that the rumours of a rift within the Pakistan dressing room started thereon since it was a period where the team was in low spirits.

Pakistan cricket, which had dominating white-ball sides, with players from both formats ruling the ICC ranking charts, has been going through a turmoil which Imam, speaking to Cricwick, traced back to the 2023 Asia Cup game against India in Sri Lanka.

Imam said that the Asia Cup match against India was seen as a preparatory platform for the upcoming ODI World Cup but the big defeat made them realise that they weren't ready for the bigger tournament.

“I heard these rumours every time Pakistan lost a game. But the truth is we didn't play good cricket in the two World Cups. I was hurt personally and I think people were expecting a lot from us in the ODI World Cup. We were the No. 1 team just three years back," Imam said while speaking on the podcast.

Although the batter didn't namedrop anyone, he added that a lot of his teammates could be heard crying and some of them locked themselves up in their hotel rooms.

“A lot of boys were disheartened from there. I heard a lot of them crying during the World Cup; some had stopped smiling and locked themselves up in their hotel rooms. There was also this setback of losing against Afghanistan. So from being the No. 1 team, nothing went as we expected in India," Imam said.

Pakistan are currently playing South Africa in a three-match ODI series, which they have already won 2-0, in what has come as a big boost ahead of the Champions Trophy at home next year.

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