Wahab Riaz: “If a player can win you a match, that’s more important than anything else”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz said he is willing to overlook wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan’s fitness flaws as he is capable of being a match-winner.
Azam, who is the son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan, has been heavily criticised in the past for being overweight. However, he has worked hard to become thinner and even lost 30kg in 12 months.
The 25-year-old is in the squad for the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand, but has failed to impress in the first three games, racking up scores of 10, 2 and 10.
Despite this, Wahab knows the potential Azam possesses and seems intent on continuing to back the power-hitter.
“If a player can win you a match, that’s more important than anything else,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are 3-0 down in their series against New Zealand and will look to pick up a consolation win in the fourth T20I, which will be held on January 19 in Christchurch.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
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