Azhar Mahmood: “He needs to work on his fitness and he realises that himself”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Azhar Mahmood, head coach of Islamabad United, wants Azam Khan to get fitter and said the Pakistan powerhouse knows he is still overweight.
The 24-year-old has been heavily criticised for his weight, which many feel is ruining his chances of becoming a highly talented cricketer.
Despite this weight issues, Azam, who is the son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan, has shown plenty of promise with the bat. This was especially prevalent during the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as he hammered 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.
He then proceeded to make scores of 0 and 1 when playing for Pakistan in their T20I series against Afghanistan.
Since he remains on the fringes of the national team, Mahmood advised Azam to work on his fitness so that he can develop into a bigger star.
“He needs to work on his fitness and he realises that himself,” the 48-year-old was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan are now preparing for their tour of Sri Lanka, which will consist of two Test matches that will be held in Galle and Colombo from July 16 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood