Mohammad Hafeez: “I found that this guy is not ready to play international cricket. I told him again that if you want to play for Pakistan, you need to show more commitment. But I didn’t see that commitment in him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez doesn’t think wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan is ready for international cricket as he lacks the commitment required.
Azam has featured in 14 T20Is to date and mustered 88 runs at an average of 8.80 and a strike-rate of 133.33.
Most recently, the 26-year-old was in action in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he got out for a golden duck against the United States of America, which was the only game he played.
Considering how often Azam fails to score runs, Hafeez conceded that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the national team.
“I found that this guy is not ready to play international cricket. I told him again that if you want to play for Pakistan, you need to show more commitment. But I didn’t see that commitment in him,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion.
Azam was not selected for the two-Test series against Bangladesh, which Pakistan surprisingly lost 2-0.
Many of Pakistan’s players are now featuring in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over competition being held in Faisalabad.
However, Azam is playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and has made 14 runs in four matches at an average of 3.50 and a strike-rate of 66.66.
The Pakistan team’s next assignment will be a three-match Test series against England, which is set to be played from October 7 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi