Atiq-uz-Zaman: “You must have seen how disappointing and childish it looks for Azam Khan to be an international wicketkeeper for Pakistan; he has been completely exposed”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Atiq-uz-Zaman has ripped Azam Khan apart, saying “he has been completely exposed” in international cricket.
Azam, who is also a wicketkeeper-batsman, has been criticised for being overweight, having no clue against short balls, and his lack of runs for the men in green.
The 25-year-old son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan has featured in 14 T20Is and scored 88 runs at an average of 8.80 and a strike-rate of 133.33.
In the T20 World Cup, he only played in the opening game against the United States of America and was dismissed for a golden duck.
“In Pakistan, we have a different mentality. We make a wicketkeeper out of someone who can’t field. ‘Oh, chalo gi, make him the wicketkeeper so we can get rid of him’. In T20, only 10 balls might come to the wicketkeeper, but those 10 balls can cost you the game,” Atiq was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“You must have seen how disappointing and childish it looks for Azam Khan to be an international wicketkeeper for Pakistan; he has been completely exposed. It’s not his fault; he’s been forced to do it. He’s not a natural wicketkeeper; he’s forced to keep wicket because of the structure of his body.
“In T20, one person can win the game and one person can cost the game as well, and that wicketkeeper position is so important.”
Pakistan lost their first two T20 World Cup matches against the United States of America and India before rebounding to take down Canada and Ireland.
Despite winning their last two games, they failed to qualify for the Super Eights and were thus eliminated in the group stage of the tournament.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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