Former Pakistan captain and director of the team, Mohammad Hafeez has made a stunning revelation on keeper-batter Azam Khan and his inability to follow the fitness regime given to him.
He was dismissed for a duck against the USA in the T20 World Cup 2024 match for Pakistan and was then captured on camera eating a burger from a fast food stall in New York after Pakistan lost to India.
Many great players questioned Khan's selection for the Pakistan team, and the Pakistan Cricket Board was chastised for choosing the legendary Moin Khan's son despite worries about his fitness and weight.
Khan batted at number six in the T20 World Cup match against co-hosts the United States, but was removed for a duck on the first delivery. The 25-year-old was therefore dropped for the following match against India, which Pakistan lost by six runs.
Former Pakistan captain and Team Director Mohammad Hafeez slammed Khan on Friday, exposing some alarming facts about him.
During his time, Hafeez supported Khan in the New Zealand series, but the son of former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan could not live up to his expectations. In an interview on a local sports channel, Hafeez described Khan as unprofessional and indicated that the 25-year-old is not ready to play international cricket.
"(On meeting Azam Khan for the first time) Azam Khan, if you want to play cricket for Pakistan, you need to do two things. First, you have to try your best to get physically fit, which is a requirement at the international level. Second, whenever you get an opportunity, you have to perform. I also want you to work hard on your wicket-keeping abilities because, with your current fitness, you can't do fielding," Hafeez said on a Pakistan TV show.
"I connected Azam Khan with the incumbent Pakistan trainer and shared all the plans with him. Regardless of his body weight and body fat level, I told him that I didn't care about that; all I cared about is that you needed to bring your fat level down and improve your running abilities. You need to increase your running abilities so that the team's balance doesn't get affected during the game," Hafeez said.
"After allotting him a 6-week program, when Azam Khan appeared, he was still at the same body weight and body fat level as he was 6 weeks prior. His running ability was also twice as low as the rest of the team. If the rest of the team could cover 2 kilometers in 10 minutes, Azam Khan could only do it in 20 minutes. So, I went to talk to him and asked him why he didn't follow the plan and role given to him. He didn't have any answer, saying he tried his best but couldn't. This is unprofessionalism," the former Pakistan cricketer said.
Azam Khan has played 18 T20Is for Pakistan and scored 88 runs with an average of 8.80 and a strike rate of 133.33.
"Then, Azam Khan got another chance and played three matches. 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. After three matches, I rested him and informed the selectors about my findings regarding him. Now, it's up to them to decide whether to play him in the future or not?," an angry Hafeez said.
