Wahab Riaz: “You can’t expect anyone to lose 10kg in 10 days, but there is a way to improve fitness. We’ve seen Azam Khan’s a high impact player in PSL, domestic cricket and other leagues”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has defended wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan over his fitness issues, stating “you can’t expect anyone to lose 10kg in 10 days.”
Azam has routinely been criticised for being overweight, even though he has been working hard to become fitter. The 25-year-old son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan even lost 30kg in 12 months.
Since the big-hitter continues to be targeted for his weight, Wahab has promised that Azam will work on this and people will gradually see the results.
“You can’t expect anyone to lose 10kg in 10 days, but there is a way to improve fitness. We’ve seen Azam Khan’s a high impact player in PSL, domestic cricket and other leagues,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam is currently representing Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, but has failed to live up to expectations in the three games he has played, scoring 10, 2 and 10.
The men in green are 4-0 down in the series and will look to claim a consolation win in the fifth T20I, which will be played on January 21 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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