Julien Fountain: “Azam Khan has put on a lot of weight since I last met him a couple of years ago. He seems to be carrying a lot of weight”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fielding coach Julien Fountain admitted he is surprised that wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan has “put on a lot of weight since I last met him a couple of years ago”.
The 25-year-old has constantly been criticised for his fitness, with many former players believing he is a liability in the field.
In 2021, it was reported that he had lost 30kg in 12 months, but Fountain’s comments suggest that Azam has taken a step backwards and regained a lot of the weight he lost.
“Azam Khan has put on a lot of weight since I last met him a couple of years ago. He seems to be carrying a lot of weight,” he told PakPassion.
Azam recently played for Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but was dismissed for a golden duck against the United States of America, which is the only game he featured in.
The men in green lost to the United States of America and India before claiming consecutive wins over Canada and Ireland.
Despite those two victories, they ended up being eliminated in the group stage of the competition.
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