Mohammad Hafeez: “New Zealand’s team is coming here in April and then we’re going to England so he will get those 10 to 15 matches before the World Cup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan team director and interim head coach Mohammad Hafeez wants big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan to play Pakistan’s next 10 to 15 matches before the 2024 T20 World Cup.
He noted that this was the plan set in place and hopes that whoever replaces him sticks to it and gives the 25-year-old a few more opportunities to prove his worth.
Azam has failed to deliver in all eight T20Is he has played so far as he has mustered 29 runs at an average of 4.83 and a strike-rate of 90.62.
However, Hafeez knows how useful of an asset Azam can be and reiterated his belief that the power-hitter deserves more chances to show what he can do.
“So the 3 matches he got here [against New Zealand], New Zealand’s team is coming here in April and then we’re going to England so he will get those 10 to 15 matches before the World Cup. And if you don’t provide him [with] those opportunities then you’re going against the plan you’ve set,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently played for Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and made 22 runs in three games at an average of 7.33 and a strike-rate of 115.78.
Currently, he is in action for Islamabad United in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has accumulated 147 runs in seven matches, which includes a top score of 75, at an average of 36.75 and a strike-rate of 190.90.
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 9:Â Shadab Khan (captain), Naseem Shah, Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Tymal Mills, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Matthew Forde, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Obed McCoy, Haider Ali, Muhammad Waseem