Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq to leave Yorkshire after One-Day Cup semi

Imam-ul-Haq will play his final game for Yorkshire in Sunday’s One-Day Cup semi-final against Hampshire at Scarborough.

The in-form batter is being considered for a recall to the Pakistan Test squad for the series against South Africa in October.

He was left out of the squad for the recent series against West Indies, but his form for Yorkshire has put him back in the spotlight.

It is understood the Pakistan selectors want the left-hander to prove his form in the Hanif Mohammad Trophy next month.

Ul-haq’s batting has been a key driver in Yorkshire’s form in the 50-over competition, in which they topped their group with seven wins from eight matches, to set up the last-four meeting with Hampshire.

He is the second-highest scorer in the competition with 583 runs at an average of 97.16, behind Hampshire’s Nick Gubbins, and hit a career-best 159 off 130 balls against Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Team-mate James Wharton says the nephew of the great Inzamam-ul-Haq will be a big miss for the county.

“He’s been amazing. Obviously the runs he has scored has been superb, we couldn’t have wished for it to go any better,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“He’s a very intelligent man and when you bat with him, it’s amazing to learn off [him] from the other end because he just talks you through it all.

“He’s also really good fun, a very funny man. Cliffy [Ben Cliff] said yesterday that he’s an absolute rock star of a bloke.

“He’s got a million-and-odd followers on Instagram. You don’t quite realise how big of a dog he is, so it’s been amazing to have him with the group.

“It’s gutting because he’s played a massive part in us getting there and it seems wrong that hopefully when we do get to the final he won’t be able to take the field with us, which is a massive shame.”

The 29-year-old signed for the White Rose county in July, intended to be for the remainder of the season, as a replacement for Rutaraj Gaikwad, who pulled out of his move for personal reasons.