Pakistan power-hitter Azam Khan: “I felt I feared facing fast bowling”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan has admitted that he felt he was scared of facing fast bowlers when he struggled against such bowling.
Looking back on how far he has come, the 24-year-old noted that he has made significant improvements.
Recalling what triggered him to get better, Azam, the son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan, said it Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
“I was struggling against fast bowling on the tricky Abu Dhabi wickets during the HBL PSL 6 and I realised I needed to work on my ability to play against pace bowling. I started more intense practice, which made it easier to tackle pace in match situations,” he was quoted as saying by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) website.
“It was popularly perceived that I struggle against pace bowling at 140+ kph but for the past two years, I have vastly improved this aspect of the game and I feel satisfied to have overcome it.
“I felt I feared facing fast bowling. I started watching Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which fascinated me and I thought that the cricket ball is just a small thing and we are scared of it. How much hurt it can cause me compared to what the MMA fighters go through?”
In this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL), Azam scored 282 runs in 10 matches for Islamabad United, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 40.28 and a strike-rate of 161.14.
The powerful ball striker has not been picked for Pakistan’s ongoing limited overs series against New Zealand.
After drawing the five-match T20I series 2-2, Pakistan hold a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
The third ODI will be played on Wednesday in Karachi.
Pakistan squad for ODI series against New Zealand:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir
I don’t consider him a utility, sensible, mature cricketer. Mentally he is to young to be put in to any international cricketing event. He still is a long way far from the final selection in any format of cricket. His attitude, his body language,his level of game indicates that he will never b able to come out of a second class level of cricketing zone. Pakistan must not put her money on him.