ISLAMABAD: Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq was run out against India on Sunday (February 23), adding to an unwanted record of such dismissals in ODI cricket.
In Pakistan’s second match of the 2025 Champions Trophy, Imam-ul-Haq replaced the injured Fakhar Zaman to open the innings after captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss.
For the first eight overs, Imam’s opening partner Babar Azam handled the bulk of the scoring, reaching 23 off 25 balls before edging a delivery from Hardik Pandya to wicketkeeper KL Rahul.
On the second ball of the following over, Imam, who was struggling at 10 off 25, pushed a delivery from Kuldeep Yadav towards mid-on.
The 6th run-out
Perhaps unaware of how well he had hit it, Imam rushed for a quick single, only for Axar Patel to collect the ball and throw down the stumps at the bowler’s end, running him out.
Imam’s dismissal marked his sixth run out in ODIs, the third-most by any batter since his debut. The top two are Adil Rashid (8 times) and Dipendra Singh Airee (7 times).
This prompted commentators to draw comparisons with his uncle, former Pakistan cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq, who holds the joint-second most runouts in ODI history with 40, just behind Marvan Atapattu (41).
Ravi Shastri jokingly wondered if the run-out gene ran in the family, to which Sunil Gavaskar quipped, “I don’t think there is much running happening there.”
What is Imam-ul-Haq’s record of run-outs in ODI cricket?
Since his debut, among players with at least 50 innings, Imam ranks fifth for the frequency with which he has been run out in ODI cricket – once every twelve innings.
Highest frequency of runouts in men’s ODIs since Imam-ul-Haq’s debut (min. 50 inns)
| Name | Innings | Run outs | Innings per run-out |
| Adil Rashid | 53 | 8 | 6.6 |
| Dipendra Singh Airee | 56 | 7 | 8.0 |
| Jason Holder | 62 | 6 | 10.3 |
| Richie Berrington | 63 | 6 | 10.5 |
| Imam-ul-Haq | 72 | 6 | 12.0 |
The highest frequency of runouts in men’s ODIs (min. 50 inns)
| Player | Innings | Run outs | Innings per run-out |
| David Richardson | 77 | 16 | 4.8 |
| Simon O’Donnell | 64 | 13 | 4.9 |
| Sanjay Manjrekar | 70 | 14 | 5.0 |
| Paul Reiffel | 57 | 11 | 5.2 |
| Craig McDermott | 78 | 15 | 5.2 |
Inzamam’s 40 run-outs are the joint-second most in ODI history, but much of that can be attributed to his lengthy career (350 innings). With a run-out every 8.8 innings, he ranks 84th out of 479 players. Imam, on the other hand, is run out once every 12 innings, placing him 171st.
Both have better records than players like Marvan Atapattu (41 run-outs in 259 innings, once every 6.3 innings) and Rahul Dravid (40 run-outs in 318 innings, once every 8.0 innings), who are not typically considered poor runners between the wickets.
