Azam Khan: “I was extremely scared of fast bowlers at that time and was trying to back off. Sami Bhai (Mohammad Sami) was bowling rockets and it was insanely hard for me to tackle that sort of pace”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Azam Khan, the power-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, has admitted that he was scared of the pace Pakistan speedster Mohammad Sami used to bowl at.
He noted that back in the day, he was afraid of facing fast bowlers in general as he didn’t want to get hit.
When facing Sami, he recalled how the 42-year-old from Karachi was bowling absolute “rockets.”
Interestingly, Sami previously claimed that he had bowled two deliveries at 162 kph and 164 kph, which would have been the fastest deliveries in international cricket.
Legendary Pakistan seamer Shoaib Akhtar currently holds the record for the quickest ball at 161.3 kph (100.2 mph), which he unleashed during the men in green’s match against England during the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.
“I was extremely scared of fast bowlers at that time and was trying to back off. Sami Bhai (Mohammad Sami) was bowling rockets and it was insanely hard for me to tackle that sort of pace,” Azam said on Backward Point: A Cricket Podcast as quoted by Cricwick.
The Pakistan team recently defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before taking down Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
They then featured in the Asia Cup, where they fell just short of making it to the final.
Right now, they are involved in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, where they have won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan will now face India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali