ISLAMABAD: Former all-rounder and head coach of Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United Azhar Mahmood has expressed the desire to see Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan “fit and agile” after he came under scathing criticism for his poor show at the recently-concluded T20I series held in Sharjah, and won by Afghanistan.
Azam faced criticism for bungling behind the stumps. He had an unsatisfactory performance in the two innings of the three-match Twenty20 series against Afghanistan, scoring only one run.
Mahmood said that “wicketkeeper is a phenomenal cricket player. When he is playing well, he is a good striker of the cricket ball, but he needs to work on his fitness, and he realizes that himself,”
He added, “He (Azam) is a young kid, and when you’re playing franchise cricket, it’s up to him how he wants to evolve as a person and cricket player. As a coach, I would like to see him fit and agile, and that’s the conversation we had with him, and he is keen to work on his fitness,”
Azhar Mahmood tells me "As a coach I would like to see a more fitter and more agile Azam Khan" #Cricket pic.twitter.com/UCFh5rSwOv
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) April 7, 2023
Earlier, Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed opened up about excluding Azam Khan from the Twenty20 squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Rasheed said, “Azam didn’t perform well in the series against the Afghan cricket team, but mistakes happen. The door is open for his return if he works on his problem and improves. Several cricketers in the globe have been dropped and made a comeback and played cricket for a long time,”
“Currently, we’ve Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Rizwan wicketkeeper-batters, and Azam is in the pipeline,” he added.
It must be noted that the Pakistan cricket team is preparing for the limited-overs series against the New Zealand cricket team on home soil.
The Black Caps’ tour of Pakistan team will include five ODIs and several T20I cricket matches.
The Pakistan cricket players will also attend a four-day camp from April 7 in Lahore to fine-tune their preparations for the series.
Pakistan cricket squads
T20I: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (v-captain), Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zaman Khan
ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (v-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ihsanullah, Naseem Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood, and Usama Mir.
Series schedule:
14 Apr – 1st T20I, Lahore
15 Apr – 2nd T20I, Lahore
17 Apr – 3rd T20I, Lahore
20 Apr – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
24 Apr – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
27 Apr – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
29 Apr – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
3 May – 3rd ODI, Karachi
5 May – 4th ODI, Karachi
7 May – 5th ODI, Karachi
