Imran Farhat came into the international arena as a teenage opener for Pakistan in the 2001 tour to New Zealand but was left out immediately after a poor start to his career. He returned in the 2003-2004 season where he impressed in the home series against South Africa. He scored 235 runs including a maiden Test century in a 1-0 series win, being the second highest run scorer behind opening partner Taufeeq Umar.
The season became better in the coming months as Farhat scored 348 runs at close to 70 in the series against New Zealand, which Pakistan won 5-0. He finished the season on a high, scoring an important Test century against arch rivals India.
However, the following season turned out to be a poor one for Farhat. His average dropped drastically and aggregated only 199 at an average of around 25 runs, forcing the selectors to drop him from the Test and ODI squads. He returned to the domestic circuit and scored heavily, staying in the reckoning for the opener’s spot. After a century in the tour game against the visiting Indians, he got into the Test squad again and scored an important fifty in the Karachi Test in 2006. It helped him retain his spot for the next few tours, where he produced some mixed results. In 2009, he scored a brilliant unbeaten century against New Zealand in Napier, but a poor show in England in the following year saw him get the axe again. Farhat was recalled back to the Test side after 3 years, but the joy was short lived for the opening batsman, as he was dropped only after one game against South Africa where he scored 30 and 43.
Farhat’s ODI career followed a similar pattern, as he was tried out as an opener in the 2010 series against South Africa, but failed to earn a spot in the World Cup. He made a return to the ODI squad in the September 2011 tour to Zimbabwe, and scored an unbeaten 75 in his return game. His comeback to the ODI team in March 2013 lasted a bit longer than Tests, he played the bilateral series against the Proteas and was also selected for the Champions Trophy in August 2013, a string of poor performance saw him being dropped again.
