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[PICTURES] Would Azam Khan be a better cricketer if he lost weight?

Him being an international set up is embarrassing. It’s 2024 and he is not an athlete. If he was serious about being a good player he’d been fit by now. No matter how good he is with the bat, he is a liability in the field wicketkeeper or not
 
adzzy786 said:
Him being an international set up is embarrassing. It’s 2024 and he is not an athlete. If he was serious about being a good player he’d been fit by now. No matter how good he is with the bat, he is a liability in the field wicketkeeper or not
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He is not good with the bat.
Geez, how hard is it to see that?
 
pakistani pride said:
He is not good with the bat.
Geez, how hard is it to see that?
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Did I say he is good with the bat? How hard it is to read and understand a post?

It was an example for argument sake, no matter how good anyone is with the bat (whether they are or not is a separate issue) being unfit and fat for an international team should not be allowed on any level.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Surely these recent performances will affect his market value in the leagues too.

I think it may be better for him to feign an injury and sit out the rest of the series if leagues are his only priority.
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There are so many options in the market today and they will keep popping up. You have a new league emerging almost every year in some part of the world.

Azam might miss out one some of the top tier ones like the BBL or The Hundred, but if anything, he can use these token international appearances to sell himself as an “international cricketer” to these emerging leagues.

Besides, he has put in some decent performances in leagues and those franchises will look to retain him irrespective of his failures for Pakistan.

I was quite shocked to see that he is already 25. I’m sure that quite a few Pakistani fans would also be under the false impressive that he would be 21-22, but he is no longer a young player.

In fact, if he is 25 on paper, you can add a couple of years to get his actual age because almost every cricketer has his age reduced by 2-3 years.

He should be in the prime of his career right now but he is more undercooked (pun intended) than 15-16 year old cricketers.

He didn’t play a single FC match in 2023. He has no desire to improve his fitness and change his lifestyle and habits. He is clearly not desperate to be successful in international cricket because he is making big bucks by playing T20 and T10 cricket.

Selecting players like him is a big slap to all the FC players in Pakistan who are grinding, putting in the hard yards and also prioritizing their fitness.
 
Mamoon said:
There are so many options in the market today and they will keep popping up. You have a new league emerging almost every year in some part of the world.

Azam might miss out one some of the top tier ones like the BBL or The Hundred, but if anything, he can use these token international appearances to sell himself as an “international cricketer” to these emerging leagues.

Besides, he has put in some decent performances in leagues and those franchises will look to retain him irrespective of his failures for Pakistan.

I was quite shocked to see that he is already 25. I’m sure that quite a few Pakistani fans would also be under the false impressive that he would be 21-22, but he is no longer a young player.

In fact, if he is 25 on paper, you can add a couple of years to get his actual age because almost every cricketer has his age reduced by 2-3 years.

He should be in the prime of his career right now but he is more undercooked (pun intended) than 15-16 year old cricketers.

He didn’t play a single FC match in 2023. He has no desire to improve his fitness and change his lifestyle and habits. He is clearly not desperate to be successful in international cricket because he is making big bucks by playing T20 and T10 cricket.

Selecting players like him is a big slap to all the FC players in Pakistan who are grinding, putting in the hard yards and also prioritizing their fitness.
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Did he ever play T20 leauge cricket in Eng or Aus?
 
As long as these 10 over and 20 over tournaments keep on being introduced then the likes of Azam will keep doing what they are and laughing all the way to the bank.

No need for him to improve or even play international cricket.
 
Saj said:
As long as these 10 over and 20 over tournaments keep on being introduced then the likes of Azam will keep doing what they are and laughing all the way to the bank.

No need for him to improve or even play international cricket.
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My issue is with why we are so desperate for him to play for Pakistan. He is not some unreal talent and he clearly isn't too interested in playing international cricket.

Chris Lynn is way more talented then this kid. Australia moved on from him early because they understood he is more than happy making big bucks in leagues around the world.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Why not give Azam Khan a chance to open with Saim? He surely will make use of the power play quite effectively.
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He won't get bat on ball the way he plays pace outside low bounce pitches. He was getting rushed by Southee. A player like him should never ever be selected again.
 
MenInG said:
There is no denying that the inning he played against Quetta in Match 13 of PSL 8 will go down as epic in the history of this tournament.

He has the shots but what if he could control his weight? Could he then represent Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is as well?

Could he not enhance his potential further by improving his physical fitness?
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does he have an offside game, and with that overconfident arrogant attitude without having even achieved anything he will still suck
 
Cricket Warrior said:
With such numbers he can't even play in domestic cricket.

I still can't believe that we have dropped Mohammad Haris for this guy.


https://twitter.com/x/status/1746872358407954720
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i guess the wo
Officer Barbrady said:
Very small sample size. He won his team matches in the cpl this year which isn’t an easy tournament for batsmen . Let him play this entire series
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LOL CPL, facing who?
He is not fit or good enough for INT cricket.
Cant play pace at all.
 
He has always said that he is scared to lose weight because it would affect his strength.
I don't get why he can't just get jacked then, like normal athletes do.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Why not give Azam Khan a chance to open with Saim? He surely will make use of the power play quite effectively.
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“I was extremely scared of fast bowlers at that time and was trying to back off. Sami Bhai (Mohammad Sami) was bowling rockets and it was insanely hard for me to tackle that sort of pace,”

This is not the words of an opener. It shows in his batting against pace too.
 
kingusama92 said:
“I was extremely scared of fast bowlers at that time and was trying to back off. Sami Bhai (Mohammad Sami) was bowling rockets and it was insanely hard for me to tackle that sort of pace,”

This is not the words of an opener. It shows in his batting against pace too.
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But still how he managed to hit that six against Hasnain in PSL was impressive, i dont think he has any issues playing pace.

 
1st 6 of his T20 career today against New Zealand in he 3rd T20 match. Superb shot TBH but he needs to go big here.
 
His weight is not the reason for his failure.

There is a massive gap between pak domestic and international level. He isn't the only one failing. We have seen saud , saim and others struggle as well
 
Shaheen Shah Afridi on Azam Khan during 3rd T20I post-match presser:

"Azam Khan is the best domestic performer in Pakistan. If you look at his strike rate and average at number 5 and 6, it is the best in Pakistan. These are the players who, if given proper opportunity, will be beneficial for the Pakistan team.”​
 
Mamoon said:
There are so many options in the market today and they will keep popping up. You have a new league emerging almost every year in some part of the world.

Azam might miss out one some of the top tier ones like the BBL or The Hundred, but if anything, he can use these token international appearances to sell himself as an “international cricketer” to these emerging leagues.

Besides, he has put in some decent performances in leagues and those franchises will look to retain him irrespective of his failures for Pakistan.

I was quite shocked to see that he is already 25. I’m sure that quite a few Pakistani fans would also be under the false impressive that he would be 21-22, but he is no longer a young player.

In fact, if he is 25 on paper, you can add a couple of years to get his actual age because almost every cricketer has his age reduced by 2-3 years.

He should be in the prime of his career right now but he is more undercooked (pun intended) than 15-16 year old cricketers.

He didn’t play a single FC match in 2023. He has no desire to improve his fitness and change his lifestyle and habits. He is clearly not desperate to be successful in international cricket because he is making big bucks by playing T20 and T10 cricket.

Selecting players like him is a big slap to all the FC players in Pakistan who are grinding, putting in the hard yards and also prioritizing their fitness.
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Firstly, his age is not fudged. He is not some random guy from a village where you can do these things. He's the son of a Pakistan captain, naturally his birth will be properly documented and it's 100% impossible for a person with such a prominent background to fake his age.

Secondly, he is in the prime of his career. His performances everywhere else but Pakistan is really good. Why? Because elsewhere he has security that he won't get dropped immediately after one or two failures, and he's not being made to bat in bad situations where he has no time to get set.

He's not very unfit. He's athletic despite his build.
 
CricketAnalyst said:
Firstly, his age is not fudged. He is not some random guy from a village where you can do these things. He's the son of a Pakistan captain, naturally his birth will be properly documented and it's 100% impossible for a person with such a prominent background to fake his age.

Secondly, he is in the prime of his career. His performances everywhere else but Pakistan is really good. Why? Because elsewhere he has security that he won't get dropped immediately after one or two failures, and he's not being made to bat in bad situations where he has no time to get set.

He's not very unfit. He's athletic despite his build.
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Hello Azam Khan your failures are tolerable but your fitness is a big turnoff to every kid watching cricket , get a life mate
 
CricketAnalyst said:
Firstly, his age is not fudged. He is not some random guy from a village where you can do these things. He's the son of a Pakistan captain, naturally his birth will be properly documented and it's 100% impossible for a person with such a prominent background to fake his age.

Secondly, he is in the prime of his career. His performances everywhere else but Pakistan is really good. Why? Because elsewhere he has security that he won't get dropped immediately after one or two failures, and he's not being made to bat in bad situations where he has no time to get set.

He's not very unfit. He's athletic despite his build.
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You are totally wrong but it is understandable because you are not from Pakistan and you are not familiar with how age-fudging happens here and it is not restricted to cricket only.

There are people in my family who have fudged their age. In fact, my sister-in-law who was born in 1990 in reality has YOB 1992 on her ID card.

Moin Khan himself was an age fudger. Anyone who watched him play will testify that he was a lot older than 33 when he played his last match for Pakistan. He was not a day younger than 36/37.

The way you reduce your age in Pakistan has nothing to do the documentation of your birth. It has everything to do with getting your ID card after you turn 18.

A lot of people apply for their IDs at 20/21 and pay bribe to the officer or use their connections to change the age inserted in the system. So you get your ID at 20/21 and your ID says you are 18.

This happens at all levels of Pakistani society: from lower to affluent class. People think it is happening in cricket only but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ask anyone who is based in Pakistan and they will tell you the same.

We all have friends and family who are older than what their stated age is. A big reason why it happens outside cricket is because of government jobs. Most civil examinations have an age limit of 30 so parents reduce their children’s age by a couple of years to increase their chances and opportunities of employment.

Back to Azam though. It is embarrassing to watch someone in the prime of his youth carry so much kilos. It shows lack of discipline even if you are a couch potato let alone a professional cricketer.

His build (bone structure and mass) has nothing to do with the fat that he is carrying and everything to do with his dietary habits.

He must be consuming 3,000+ calories per day considering the fact that he must be burning quite a bit because he trains every day, which is utterly shameful.

It is a bit of a stretch to say he performers everywhere because his numbers are ordinary at best. He averages below 30 in domestic cricket in all formats and he has no utility as a cricketer outside a few low quality franchise leagues.

He is in his late 20s, he has no discipline in his life, he is an average performer in domestic cricket and an awful performer in international cricket in spite of the fact that he has a headstart on thousands of other cricketers in Pakistan because he has the privilege of being the son of a notable former international cricketer.

He is one of the most unlikable cricketers in Pakistan right now. Every fan of Pakistan should be detest him and protest his inclusion in the team because it is a slap in the face of all the players in domestic cricket who are better performers than him, who are younger than him and who are also fitter than him.
 
The amount of excuses that we make for his weight is incredible.

"It doesn't effect his performance"
"Look at Inzimam"
"He is athletic"
"Genetics"

He is an obese sportsman. All he needs to do is cut calories by 300-400 a day to start with. For a dude with his appetite and calorie consumption it means something like switching over coca cola to diet coke, not having fries with his burgers, reducing his portions very slightly or switching to low cal options that dont taste different.

It is not hard. Especially for someone at that weight. It will fly off him if he is serious. Nothing drastic is needed.
 
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DeadlyVenom said:
The amount of excuses that we make for his weight is incredible.

"It doesn't effect his performance"
"Look at Inzimam"
"He is athletic"
"Genetics"

He is an obese sportsman. All he needs to do is cut calories by 300-400 a day to start with. For a dude with his appetite and calorie consumption it means something like switching over coca cola to diet coke, not having fries with his burgers, reducing his portions very slightly or switching to low cal options that dont taste different.

It is not hard. Especially for someone at that weight. It will fly off him if he is serious. Nothing drastic is needed.
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For starters he has to throw away his McDonald's Loyalty Card.
McDonald's profit may take a hit but it will be great for Pakistan Cricket in the long run
 
IMMY69 said:
For starters he has to throw away his McDonald's Loyalty Card.
McDonald's profit may take a hit but it will be great for Pakistan Cricket in the long run
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The thing is man he really doesnt have to lol

Switch a big mac with chips and coke

To big mac with no chips and diet coke

Hes probably got enough just from that to start losing weight.

Its that simple!!!
 
The reality is that Azam khan is not interested in improving his fitness. He thinks that he can hit long sixes just because of his current physique and he likes to hit long sixes, rest you can imagine. He has become more of a liability to the team now and people are not liking his inclusion in the squad anymore.
 
Mamoon said:
You are totally wrong but it is understandable because you are not from Pakistan and you are not familiar with how age-fudging happens here and it is not restricted to cricket only.

There are people in my family who have fudged their age. In fact, my sister-in-law who was born in 1990 in reality has YOB 1992 on her ID card.

Moin Khan himself was an age fudger. Anyone who watched him play will testify that he was a lot older than 33 when he played his last match for Pakistan. He was not a day younger than 36/37.

The way you reduce your age in Pakistan has nothing to do the documentation of your birth. It has everything to do with getting your ID card after you turn 18.

A lot of people apply for their IDs at 20/21 and pay bribe to the officer or use their connections to change the age inserted in the system. So you get your ID at 20/21 and your ID says you are 18.

This happens at all levels of Pakistani society: from lower to affluent class. People think it is happening in cricket only but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ask anyone who is based in Pakistan and they will tell you the same.

We all have friends and family who are older than what their stated age is. A big reason why it happens outside cricket is because of government jobs. Most civil examinations have an age limit of 30 so parents reduce their children’s age by a couple of years to increase their chances and opportunities of employment.

Back to Azam though. It is embarrassing to watch someone in the prime of his youth carry so much kilos. It shows lack of discipline even if you are a couch potato let alone a professional cricketer.

His build (bone structure and mass) has nothing to do with the fat that he is carrying and everything to do with his dietary habits.

He must be consuming 3,000+ calories per day considering the fact that he must be burning quite a bit because he trains every day, which is utterly shameful.

It is a bit of a stretch to say he performers everywhere because his numbers are ordinary at best. He averages below 30 in domestic cricket in all formats and he has no utility as a cricketer outside a few low quality franchise leagues.

He is in his late 20s, he has no discipline in his life, he is an average performer in domestic cricket and an awful performer in international cricket in spite of the fact that he has a headstart on thousands of other cricketers in Pakistan because he has the privilege of being the son of a notable former international cricketer.

He is one of the most unlikable cricketers in Pakistan right now. Every fan of Pakistan should be detest him and protest his inclusion in the team because it is a slap in the face of all the players in domestic cricket who are better performers than him, who are younger than him and who are also fitter than him.
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Being a medical professional, what do you estimate his weight to be? Someone on here assumed 120kg. But I disagree strongly. 120 kg males don't look like that.

My personal estimation is that he is atleast 160 kg plus, considering he is not that tall.
 
I think Azam will get another opportunity after this series, this time hopefully at home versus Zimbabwe, Ireland the likes..... he'll have better performances and cement his place in the side. Haters here do not understand the game. Azam is one of cricket's 'biggest' prospects, players like him do not come along everyday.
 
If he wanted to, he would have.

Get a personal fitness trainer and a life coach. A diet programme of high fibre and protein. Calorie deficit and focus on hybrid training. He has the money and facilities but clearly doesn’t want to.
 
Mamoon said:
You are totally wrong but it is understandable because you are not from Pakistan and you are not familiar with how age-fudging happens here and it is not restricted to cricket only.

There are people in my family who have fudged their age. In fact, my sister-in-law who was born in 1990 in reality has YOB 1992 on her ID card.

Moin Khan himself was an age fudger. Anyone who watched him play will testify that he was a lot older than 33 when he played his last match for Pakistan. He was not a day younger than 36/37.

The way you reduce your age in Pakistan has nothing to do the documentation of your birth. It has everything to do with getting your ID card after you turn 18.

A lot of people apply for their IDs at 20/21 and pay bribe to the officer or use their connections to change the age inserted in the system. So you get your ID at 20/21 and your ID says you are 18.

This happens at all levels of Pakistani society: from lower to affluent class. People think it is happening in cricket only but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ask anyone who is based in Pakistan and they will tell you the same.

We all have friends and family who are older than what their stated age is. A big reason why it happens outside cricket is because of government jobs. Most civil examinations have an age limit of 30 so parents reduce their children’s age by a couple of years to increase their chances and opportunities of employment.

Back to Azam though. It is embarrassing to watch someone in the prime of his youth carry so much kilos. It shows lack of discipline even if you are a couch potato let alone a professional cricketer.

His build (bone structure and mass) has nothing to do with the fat that he is carrying and everything to do with his dietary habits.

He must be consuming 3,000+ calories per day considering the fact that he must be burning quite a bit because he trains every day, which is utterly shameful.

It is a bit of a stretch to say he performers everywhere because his numbers are ordinary at best. He averages below 30 in domestic cricket in all formats and he has no utility as a cricketer outside a few low quality franchise leagues.

He is in his late 20s, he has no discipline in his life, he is an average performer in domestic cricket and an awful performer in international cricket in spite of the fact that he has a headstart on thousands of other cricketers in Pakistan because he has the privilege of being the son of a notable former international cricketer.

He is one of the most unlikable cricketers in Pakistan right now. Every fan of Pakistan should be detest him and protest his inclusion in the team because it is a slap in the face of all the players in domestic cricket who are better performers than him, who are younger than him and who are also fitter than him.
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his age is real.He went to CAS school in karachi and i know his batchmates so he is not fudging his age but yeah rest of the points are valid.
 
I am hoping Azam plays the last two games as well.

Seeing Azam fail has become a hobby of mine.
 
First 2 games I expected him to have some impact on the game, however today he came at a stage where the RR was what, 14 an over? Can’t really expect him to do much there especially when he’s already under a huge amount of pressure.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
First 2 games I expected him to have some impact on the game, however today he came at a stage where the RR was what, 14 an over? Can’t really expect him to do much there especially when he’s already under a huge amount of pressure.
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The rate was much higher when Nawaz came in. He still managed to score 28 odd.

Does Azam even have the capability to score more than 10 runs?
 
Sher Khan said:
The rate was much higher when Nawaz came in. He still managed to score 28 odd.

Does Azam even have the capability to score more than 10 runs?
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Can’t really compare the two. Nawaz has played 58 ODI’s, he’s been in those pressure situations at the top level, you cannot expect a rookie to come out and score 14 an over. If the like of Rizwan, Babar and Ifthikar can’t chase those massive targets throughout the series then why should we expect so much from Azam.
 

Shoaib Malik reveals hilarious story regarding Azam Khan​

​

Malik talked about Azam's meal portion and how much he ate when Malik invited him​


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Shoaib Malik with Azam Khan - LPL

Senior Pakistan batter Shoaib Malik has revealed a hilarious story regarding hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan.
While talking on a local sports channel during the ICC World Cup 2023, the 41-year-old talked about Azam's meal portion and how much he ate when Malik invited him over for Sehri during Ramadan.

"During Ramadan, I was in Dubai at home and Azam called me saying I am in your city. I asked him to come home and invited him to Sehri. So usually, we sleep post-Sehri. I asked him what he would eat and he said, I will eat what you usually have," Malik said.

"So, I told him, I eat Paratha made in Olive Oil and an omelette and he asked me to make it for him as well. I asked to make an omelette of six eggs with four to five thin parathas. He ate them within three minutes which is why I asked to make another omelette of six eggs," he added.

Malik concluded by adding: "Interestingly, the omelette finished but parathas were left, he dipped two of them in Tea and ate."

It must be noted that Azam has played five T20Is for Pakistan where he has only scored seven runs. He is one of the hottest commodities in franchise cricket due to his ability to clear the boundary with ease.

Recently, Azam was part of Guyana Amazon Warriors who won CPL 2023. He was drafted for an impressive figure of close to $120,000.
 
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Its ridiculous to call him hard-hitting batter, he never hit at international level, forget about hard or soft hitting.
 
End of the day, he’s always going to be criticised more than anyone else in the team due to his obesity. That’s on him. If he doesn’t want to put in the hard yards in the gym then don’t expect your supporters to go out of their way to defend you at all costs.

Go back to playing leagues, put down the drumsticks and get back on the treadmill.
 
I don't think Azam Khan is going to get another chance. It's better to replace him with Haseebullah he might provide some blitz down the order.
 
Seeing SSA still backing Azam khan serves him right. There is really no hope for Pak cricket. Harsh reality.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
First 2 games I expected him to have some impact on the game, however today he came at a stage where the RR was what, 14 an over? Can’t really expect him to do much there especially when he’s already under a huge amount of pressure.
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But even if he got a quick 35 that would have given him abit more leeway.
 
Sher Khan said:
Being a medical professional, what do you estimate his weight to be? Someone on here assumed 120kg. But I disagree strongly. 120 kg males don't look like that.

My personal estimation is that he is atleast 160 kg plus, considering he is not that tall.
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Considering the fact that he has a heavy frame and is also obese, 120 kg doesn’t seem right. He must be well over that figure.
 
Galla said:
his age is real.He went to CAS school in karachi and i know his batchmates so he is not fudging his age but yeah rest of the points are valid.
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That is fair enough. I was explaining to @CricketAnalyst that your background (affluent or not) doesn’t say anything about the likelihood of age-fudging because it is a common practice in Pakistan among all classes of society due to different reasons. It is not just limited to cricket as some believe.
 
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Asad T said:
He has always said that he is scared to lose weight because it would affect his strength.
I don't get why he can't just get jacked then, like normal athletes do.
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i mean it doesnt even make sense. losing fat wont reduce your strength. more than anything itll take added stress away from muscles and joints
 
When he came to bat during 3rd T20, DJ started playing Big Show entry song in the background. Disgusting to see this happening in NZ.
 
shamaan said:
But even if he got a quick 35 that would have given him abit more leeway.
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I believe Azam was capable of scoring more in the last game, he could’ve easily been selfish and taken his time to score meaningless runs just to secure his spot. But, he chose to take the risk for his team and unfortunately it didn’t pay off.
 
No. We've seen from the first 3 games in the NZ series that's he fine as wicketkeeper and not a liability in the field. He can run singles perfectly fine. As a number 5/6 you should be dealing in boundaries so running two's or more isn't necessary.

The issue of being a 'bad reflection of Pakistan cricket' is pretty ridiculous considering our players are either match fixers, have beer bellies, or are injury prone. There isn't a single proper athlete in our ranks. How does he reflect badly on Pakistan cricket and the others don't?

The issue of form is fair. But, if we look at rizzy's first 13 t20i games he was averaging 13 with a strike rate of 98. Then he got to statpad as opener. Azam has only played 8 games and unlike rizzy he plays selflessly. Why shouldn't he be given the same chances?

Playing the number 5/6 position isn't easy and there isn't much competition in that position. I think its best to be patient with him and allow him to develop through international experience. But, if he does fail it wont be due to his weight.
 
To everyone here, I know I don't post so much these days here, but I remember having a long argument about Azam Khan the first time he was mentioned on PakPassion.

That day was when video was posted from television where anchors were mocking Azam Khan's selection for Pakistan U19 team on the grounds of nepotism. People even then made the same points and said it's nepotism for him to be selected and he's unfit, how will he field etc. This was for Pakistan U19.

By now, no one can do doubt he's a serious professional cricketer, he's made a living in T20 in foreign leagues where his father cannot get him selected, and his performance is good enough that you cannot say he's only being selected because of his last name.

Many people have a generalized objection with his size, but for me it's fine. Not everyone has perfect body. Our captain Rohit Sharma is frankly nearly fat now. He wouldn't pass the fitness tests for many teams. Performance is more relevant.

Has Azam Khan been bad in Pakistan colours? Of course. I'm just pointing out he hasn't had even one innings where he has entered with a normal situation. It's everytime been under extreme pressure, needing to score very fast from Ball 1.
 
Mamoon said:
That is fair enough. I was explaining to @CricketAnalyst that your background (affluent or not) doesn’t say anything about the likelihood of age-fudging because it is a common practice in Pakistan among all classes of society due to different reasons. It is not just limited to cricket as some believe.
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I understand that in regular society, even for affluent people it can happen.

The thing is with Moin Khan, things like 'X cricketer is blessed with a son' are the kind of things that come up in newspapers and stuff. There's hard evidence. Furthermore, verifiable age fraud for a prominent person is too risky when it's this easy to verify.

I can absolutely believe Moin himself did age-fudging, but it's really hard to believe if you told me the son of a major celebrity (which Moin Khan is) can do it. I'm not from Pakistan, but obviously similar corruption and age fudging happens in India too, and our bureaucracy has common roots in English systems, so it's not hard to understand the basic way these things happen.
 
Haider18 said:
No. We've seen from the first 3 games in the NZ series that's he fine as wicketkeeper and not a liability in the field. He can run singles perfectly fine. As a number 5/6 you should be dealing in boundaries so running two's or more isn't necessary.

The issue of being a 'bad reflection of Pakistan cricket' is pretty ridiculous considering our players are either match fixers, have beer bellies, or are injury prone. There isn't a single proper athlete in our ranks. How does he reflect badly on Pakistan cricket and the others don't?

The issue of form is fair. But, if we look at rizzy's first 13 t20i games he was averaging 13 with a strike rate of 98. Then he got to statpad as opener. Azam has only played 8 games and unlike rizzy he plays selflessly. Why shouldn't he be given the same chances?

Playing the number 5/6 position isn't easy and there isn't much competition in that position. I think its best to be patient with him and allow him to develop through international experience. But, if he does fail it wont be due to his weight.
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They all reflect badly on Pakistan. Cricket is a professional game at international level. The performances of Pakistan's team reflects their lack of professionalism.
 
MenInG said:
There is no denying that the inning he played against Quetta in Match 13 of PSL 8 will go down as epic in the history of this tournament.

He has the shots but what if he could control his weight? Could he then represent Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is as well?

Could he not enhance his potential further by improving his physical fitness?
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dont get distracted by just his weight, he is NOT a good batsman
 
YousafTheBeast said:
I believe Azam was capable of scoring more in the last game, he could’ve easily been selfish and taken his time to score meaningless runs just to secure his spot. But, he chose to take the risk for his team and unfortunately it didn’t pay off.
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even if he got 20 and 14 balls he would still not secure his place.he just hasnt shown anything in international cricket.
 
CricketAnalyst said:
To everyone here, I know I don't post so much these days here, but I remember having a long argument about Azam Khan the first time he was mentioned on PakPassion.

That day was when video was posted from television where anchors were mocking Azam Khan's selection for Pakistan U19 team on the grounds of nepotism. People even then made the same points and said it's nepotism for him to be selected and he's unfit, how will he field etc. This was for Pakistan U19.

By now, no one can do doubt he's a serious professional cricketer, he's made a living in T20 in foreign leagues where his father cannot get him selected, and his performance is good enough that you cannot say he's only being selected because of his last name.

Many people have a generalized objection with his size, but for me it's fine. Not everyone has perfect body. Our captain Rohit Sharma is frankly nearly fat now. He wouldn't pass the fitness tests for many teams. Performance is more relevant.

Has Azam Khan been bad in Pakistan colours? Of course. I'm just pointing out he hasn't had even one innings where he has entered with a normal situation. It's everytime been under extreme pressure, needing to score very fast from Ball 1.
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What about the Afganistan series ?
 
Right now he has some sort of super human strength, agility and reflexes to carry this weight and play. However, in the long run his body especially his knees will get tore up. He needs to loose weight while retaining muscle and flexibility.
 
Sher Khan said:
My issue is with why we are so desperate for him to play for Pakistan. He is not some unreal talent and he clearly isn't too interested in playing international cricket.

Chris Lynn is way more talented then this kid. Australia moved on from him early because they understood he is more than happy making big bucks in leagues around the world.
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A certain lobby thinks he is. He recently appeared on a program with a well known pseduo journalist asking him about the injustices done to him by the previous regimes.
 
Watching him in the field motivates me to start taking exercise and weight loss seriously. God it looks painful watching him move. It's like an accident waiting to happen.
 
He should be much fitter if he has to succeed at the international level. He won't be able to stay in the team if he is not serious about his own fitness
 
In today's age, an international cricket batter shouldn't be obese.

An obese person generally can't run well. That means he may not be able to do take many quick singles and doubles. These little things add up.
 
A batting average of under 5 doesn’t invoke much confidence. Nobody could really say if he would do any better if he lost a lot of weight because performance is also dependent on your own mindset. If it’s ingrained in him that his bulk is letting him generate his power then he’ll be very skeptical of his game with lesser weight. But if he works hard to lose weight and really believes he will do well then his confidence might help him. He really needs to understand power doesn’t depend on weight. Plenty of cricketers with a decent body hit the ball miles. He could get inspired by a local hero in Afridi.
 
It's better to drop Azam now and invest in Mohammad Haris. AK is only league material and can't excel at the international level with such fitness, so whats the point giving him chances again n again!
 
Azam should play a few seasons of the Big Bash, Hundred etc, will definitely help him improve as a T20 player.
 
Should be told, get fit, or you won't play for Pakistan again.

Then lets see how serious he is about cricket.
 
Azam looks more interested in playing league cricket because getting enough money from there.

He has been told multiple times to lose weight but is not taking it seriously, which shows how much serious he is about his fitness.
 
Azam thinks he can make it into the team if he can hit the six out of the stadium in the domestic game or some random franchise league. He Needs to replicate his domestic and franchise performance into international as well, which he failed to do so badly. He is not thinking here, his career should have taken off now but instead, he played with a healthy average of 4 or 5 throughout his career till now.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
It's better to drop Azam now and invest in Mohammad Haris. AK is only league material and can't excel at the international level with such fitness, so whats the point giving him chances again n again!
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It’s not Harris vs azam . Harris will flourish at top order not at number 6 . Azam is competing for number 6/7 slot
 
Asif321 said:
It’s not Harris vs azam . Harris will flourish at top order not at number 6 . Azam is competing for number 6/7 slot
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Thing is even if Pak give Haris a chance at 6/7 I bet he will outperform Azam. Haris has actual ability and more importantly is interested in playing for Pakistan.
 
He has been given multiple chances in international cricket and has failed. He only has himself to blame.

Even Asif Ali is a better lower order batter.
 
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