Aaqib Javed: “Azam Khan should either quit cricket or else transform himself into a cricketer”
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Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed has told Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan to work on his fitness and lose weight or stop playing cricket altogether.
Azam has long been criticised for being overweight and too unfit, which has led to him working hard to improve in this department.
Last year, he revealed that he had lost about 32 kilograms, but Javed feels the 23-year-old still has a long way to go before he meets the fitness standards required to play international cricket for a long time.
It should be noted that Azam is the son of former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan.
“Azam Khan should either quit cricket or else transform himself into a cricketer,” Javed was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
Azam has represented Pakistan in three T20 Internationals to date, but hasn’t been picked since July 2021.
He has been a solid performer in domestic cricket this year as he scored 296 runs in 12 matches for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which included two fifties, at an average of 29.60 and a strike-rate of 141.62.
He then made 230 runs in seven games for Southern Punjab in the Pakistan Cup, which included a top score of 83, at an average of 32.85 and a strike-rate of 125.
The Pakistan team is currently playing a two-Test series in Sri Lanka and won the first Test by four wickets.
The second Test began on July 24 in Galle.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah
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