What's new

[VIDEOS] Azam Khan - international performance watch

Seriously. Get this guy out of the team. Leg slide slogger that is not built for international cricket. Unfit and undeserving of a place in the team with his sloppy physique.
 
Can't perform every game? When has he ever performed?
The guys who perform 7 out of 10 times we fans single out the 3 performances they fail. The guys that perform 1 out of 10 we single out the one time they succeed. It’s ridiculous really.
 
The guys who perform 7 out of 10 times we fans single out the 3 performances they fail. The guys that perform 1 out of 10 we single out the one time they succeed. It’s ridiculous really.

Exactly. But this is the same nation who made a star out of Afridi despite his batting average of 23, so not surprising.
 
Pathetic keeper. Pathetic batsman. Rather bring back Sarfraz than this guy. Why is he keeping when Haris is playing? What is this ludicrous decision?
 
Pathetic keeper. Pathetic batsman. Rather bring back Sarfraz than this guy. Why is he keeping when Haris is playing? What is this ludicrous decision?

He is keeping because he can't field in the outfield, because he is so obese.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If I was Azam Khan, I wouldn't even want to play because I'd be so worried about exposing how unfit I am to be playing cricket.
 
Garbage wicket-keeping.

Conceding byes when it should be a simple stop.

Opposition teams could probably steal a bye off this guy whenever a pacer is bowling.

Awful keeper.
 
Why isnt M haris taking the gloves tho. Abdul rehman and shadab dont seem very bright.
 
He simply cannot bend down to pick the ball or stop it.

If you cannot do that basic skill, then what are you doing keeping wicket.
 
Not only is he massively unfit. He also looks disinterested and seems to think it's his birthright to play for Pakistan.
 
Hes been exposed as expected as a very limited batter and poor poor keeper

Anyone know on what basis has he been selected
 
If I was Azam Khan, I wouldn't even want to play because I'd be so worried about exposing how unfit I am to be playing cricket.

I dont understand how he doesn't feel shame watching himself back on camera. There was a delivery where he dove and his jersey rode up and you could see the fat and unshapely back of his. Needs to be binned.
 
Reminds me of the days Kamran Akmal was keeping.

Very similar type of player actually. Few flashy shots, very inconsistent, rubbish fitness and poor keeping. Although I feel if you give him 200+ international games he'll do much better than Kami did.

But thankfully the era created by the akmals and their fans that flashy batting and poor keeping is the best pakistan have, is no longer the case. First sarfaraz and now Rizwan have shown us what we wasted our years on.

Azam should be done with International cricket for the rest of his career. Time to play leagues and eat feasts.
 
So much for Fitness is not important in Cricket.
 
Rambo raja was right should never let fixers & overweight people in Pak squads !!
 
I am bit overweight, but compared to Azam, I look like prime Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In international cricket, there should be no compromise on fitness!
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Byes being handed to the opposition on a plate from the Pakistan 'wicket-keeper'. Simply not good enough<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAFG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAFG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1640073215824281602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Azan Khans body makes Inzimam look like David Gandy…

Thought it was a pretty funny comment I posted and within PP guidelines… mods please reassess my comment. Is it really worth deleting? Nothing too malicious!
 
As I have said previously the lad must be eating 3000+ calorie plus to not lose weight while still playing international sport.

When you are as fat as he is weight loss is easy. Small switches from pepsi to diet pepsi, controlled portion reduction while still eating fast food etc will lose you weight.

This is the bare minimum and the kid can't do it. Nothing drastic is needed until he is leaner and its harder.

Now the question is - is his batting that good that we can overlook his lack of discipline and him being a liability in the field.
 
As I have said previously the lad must be eating 3000+ calorie plus to not lose weight while still playing international sport.

When you are as fat as he is weight loss is easy. Small switches from pepsi to diet pepsi, controlled portion reduction while still eating fast food etc will lose you weight.

This is the bare minimum and the kid can't do it. Nothing drastic is needed until he is leaner and its harder.

Now the question is - is his batting that good that we can overlook his lack of discipline and him being a liability in the field.

He's heavier than when he first started playing pro cricket :91: How does that happen? This boy must have a big a appetite to grow with all the training and matches burning calories :91:

Honestly our club cricket is an absolute unprofessional mess. I remember our bench strength in the 90s and now we have this. What a decline.
 
Dude should apply for Tier 2 UK work visa and become a bouncer at a nightclub. Wicketkeeping isn't for him.
 
Someone has put it in his head that he will lose strength and struggle to hit effectively if he loses weight. Hence why he hasn't put in the effort to lose weight.
 
Dude should apply for Tier 2 UK work visa and become a bouncer at a nightclub. Wicketkeeping isn't for him.

More like a takeaway worker so he can take home the lleftover fried chicken at closing time
 
League cricket and international cricket are not the same thing.

Azam can't play international cricket with that type of fitness.
 
Toward the end of the game, he had both his hands on his legs before the ball was bowled and then moving his hands forward.

This extra movement will cause issues.

Like slip fielders, he needs to remain in position to catch.
 
Batting failure can happen to anyone on these pitches.

Problem is he is too much liability in field. Can't keep, can't field. Sorry can't play international level
 
Garbage wicket-keeping.

Conceding byes when it should be a simple stop.

Opposition teams could probably steal a bye off this guy whenever a pacer is bowling.

Awful keeper.

He simply cannot bend down to pick the ball or stop it.

If you cannot do that basic skill, then what are you doing keeping wicket.

If not keeping, where else can team management hide him? Having a colossus like Azam elsewhere in the outfield is equivalent to fielding with 9 fielders + bowler. With his physical limitations, having him keep wickets is the least worse option.
 
Simply outclassed. For someone who is supposed to be a good player of spin?

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="ctNVltG"><a href="https://imgur.com/ctNVltG">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

1ape7NN.png

Looking at that dismissal, it was not much disguised. Even we lowly fans can see it was a wrong one. I think he is under too much of pressure or very low on confidence that is not allowing him to think straight. It is not the skill thing.
 
I think he is not going to get any game after this series. Rizwan's place is definitely not in danger and what ever I have seen in PSL there are no better keeper in Pakistan.
 
He's heavier than when he first started playing pro cricket :91: How does that happen? This boy must have a big a appetite to grow with all the training and matches burning calories :91:

Honestly our club cricket is an absolute unprofessional mess. I remember our bench strength in the 90s and now we have this. What a decline.

He may have a thyroid problem or genetic problem where people tend to become fat .

There's some people who can eat so much have high metabolism and still look skinny and fit.
 
Too fat. The PCB needs to force him to work with a fitness coach and drop those pounds.

It doesn't matter how good his batting is if he's a liability on the field. People compare him to Inzamam even though Inzamam was a fantastic slip fielder and was in far better shape.
 
Someone has put it in his head that he will lose strength and struggle to hit effectively if he loses weight. Hence why he hasn't put in the effort to lose weight.

Legends like Shoaib Malik. He was saying these exact words on The Pavilion last year.
 
I can’t tell you guys how disappointed I am not seeing him in the playing XI for the 3rd T20 against Afghanistan.

This will give an opportunity to our nepotism loving selectors to pick him again for next series.
 
If he has any desire to play for Pakistan, he will go back and get his fitness sorted.
 
Bad riddance. He should have played in this dead rubber.

Now he will play NZ series as well and help Pakistan loose.

I'd be surprised if he's picked for the NZ series based on what he did against Afghanistan and how poor he looked with both batting and keeping.
 
Can't say much about his batting as all have struggled but keeping was embarrassing and that's the only place he can play
 
Since hes a liability as a keeper and we cannot field him anywhere else he needs to take a good look at his fitness and stop the weight loss will make me lose my strength drama. Curtains for him for now until he loses 20kgs at least.
 
Since hes a liability as a keeper and we cannot field him anywhere else he needs to take a good look at his fitness and stop the weight loss will make me lose my strength drama. Curtains for him for now until he loses 20kgs at least.

No way will this guy give up eating burger & pizza.
 
It's incredibly sad that people had him believe that if he could score runs, he won't have to attain some sort of fitness.
 
It's incredibly sad that people had him believe that if he could score runs, he won't have to attain some sort of fitness.

People can believe what they want.

What is more alarming is that Azam himself seems to think so, otherwise he would have more efforts to fix his weight.
 
People can believe what they want.

What is more alarming is that Azam himself seems to think so, otherwise he would have more efforts to fix his weight.

No one is asking him to be crazy fit. He attained good levels of fitness few years ago. Good for his body type. Since then he has regressed which is mostly down to being unprofessional
 
Hit a few sixes now and then, talked a good game - and suddenly some started to forget about or ignore his terrible levels of fitness.
 
Last edited:
Looking at that dismissal, it was not much disguised. Even we lowly fans can see it was a wrong one. I think he is under too much of pressure or very low on confidence that is not allowing him to think straight. It is not the skill thing.

I agree I think he is under too much pressure. I still think he is a good batsman and one that can be useful but he needs to prove it. They should have given him all 3 games.

He got Rashid Khan both times in the beginning of his innings on a turning pitch. He was dropped in the 3rd game when the pitch was better so that sucks for him. I think he should be given a run before being discarded like all youngsters should.
 
Batting aside, he can't even bend down to pick up the ball during keeping, it looked pathetic , not international or domestic keeper material..
 
Hit a few sixes now and then, talked a good game - and suddenly some started to forget about or ignore his terrible levels of fitness.

He has played 16 FC games and averages 28. I really want to know why were his fans were expecting big things from him.

I called him a scammer / fraud from day 1 when I saw the lobbying to get him into the Pakistan team.
 
Shahid Afridi was right about him. If he doesnt perform in any game people will point fingers over his fitness.
In addition to him being called parchi due to his father. Imam despite all his efforts is still called parchi when he fails. He needs to improve hsi fitness to least Inzi level
 
Shahid Afridi was right about him. If he doesnt perform in any game people will point fingers over his fitness.
In addition to him being called parchi due to his father. Imam despite all his efforts is still called parchi when he fails. He needs to improve hsi fitness to least Inzi level

When Inzi first came on the scene he was a massive guy and not fat at all. He put on weight later in life but maintained his Excellence. He was also a pretty decent slip fielder. His endurance in test matches was unquestioned.

By the time Azam hits 26-28 He won't be able to move an inch. His career is going to go downhill..

This boy needs to lose weight and build muscle. There is a reason why coaches talk of fitness..warna every pehlwaan would be an elite sportsman.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I wonder why we do not have a specific fitness test for selection for example:

2km Run
Shuttle Run
one minute pushups
one minute pull ups
Minimum Squat (8 reps)

If you pass you are selected regardless of how big or small you are. Keep the standards high, publish the numbers and incentivize losing fat and fitness.
 
Shahid Afridi was right about him. If he doesnt perform in any game people will point fingers over his fitness.
In addition to him being called parchi due to his father. Imam despite all his efforts is still called parchi when he fails. He needs to improve hsi fitness to least Inzi level

Absolutely correct. He’s one of your better middle order options. Correct me if I am wrong, but Abdullah Shafique has had four ducks in a row in T20Is, has little by way of hitting power, but has been given the benefit here. I’d say his fitness is superior to Inzi’s and most people on this forum. You can still be fat and fit and most on here don’t seem to realise the obvious. If he loses weight he’ll lose his hitting power. The only format I wouldn’t play him in is ODIs, given the intense need to run singles. He’s fine for tests and T20Is.

He only failed in this series because of the top order failing, the expectation of a miracle innings in that context, the pressure of being his father’s son and the pressure of knowing that one bad innings will result in those who know nothing about the game calling for his head. In addition. The pitches were a bit strange and the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat. I’d play him and keep on playing him in T20s.
 
When Inzi first came on the scene he was a massive guy and not fat at all. He put on weight later in life but maintained his Excellence. He was also a pretty decent slip fielder. His endurance in test matches was unquestioned.

By the time Azam hits 26-28 He won't be able to move an inch. His career is going to go downhill..

This boy needs to lose weight and build muscle. There is a reason why coaches talk of fitness..warna every pehlwaan would be an elite sportsman.

He has has plenty of muscle, he also has some excess fat. Losing fat in the manner many suggest would lead to a significant loss of muscle, hence why most of your modern players struggle to get the ball to the boundary in the way they used to. Coaches can talk all they want, their comments need to be geared to what is best for the person concerned, not what a one-size-fits all approach which has resulted in the mass destruction of talent by your own domestic coaches.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When Inzi first came on the scene he was a massive guy and not fat at all. He put on weight later in life but maintained his Excellence. He was also a pretty decent slip fielder. His endurance in test matches was unquestioned.

By the time Azam hits 26-28 He won't be able to move an inch. His career is going to go downhill..

This boy needs to lose weight and build muscle. There is a reason why coaches talk of fitness..warna every pehlwaan would be an elite sportsman.

He was also good in the outfield with a wonderful throw.
 
Shahid Afridi was right about him. If he doesnt perform in any game people will point fingers over his fitness.
In addition to him being called parchi due to his father. Imam despite all his efforts is still called parchi when he fails. He needs to improve hsi fitness to least Inzi level

“If he doesn’t perform”seriously?

Shahid should’ve known better and instead he should’ve said.

“When he will fail”.

It was never a question of “if”, it was always “when”.
And it came a lot sooner than we expected.

Afridi and we all, already the reason.
 
I didn't care for the runs he scored in the PSL. His fitness never improved, in fact it has gone the other way.

Until he can get fit, he should never play Intl. cricket again.
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"


A big SHAME on your qualification for being a "trainer", if you come up with such a lame and hopelessly philosophical excuses for not being able to meet a basic requirement for an international level sportsman.

But yeah, obviously you will lose your job if you are honest about his extreme lack of fitness in the public - and rightly so, because many are in survival mode in the current Pak economic situation.
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"

Fire the trainer!
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"

What type of logic is this? So if he loses weight he will lose his sixes? Why did Saim Ayub a scrawny kid hit the same amount of sixes as Azam this season then? Why did Mohammad Haris an even shorter and smaller guy hit more sixes than Azam this season?

Size of course helps but six hitting ultimately requires on your skill and timing more than anything else, look at Pandya.
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"

This is a very polarised opinion. I think you can get to a place where you trim down to a degree without losing your power.

Even with all the good will in the world, Azam will never seem ‘slim’ to people, even if he gets a six pack. This is because he is wide boned. That’s just the reality of it.

However, it’s also true that he’s not playing at his optimum weight.

His optimum weight is where he’s light enough to improve his keeping and reaction times, but still retaining his power.

That is the fitness level he should aim for.
 
People need to understand the difference in domestic league which are designed to make it super easy for batters with smaller boundaries and highway roads to maximize six hitting for the viewing public.

But international cricket is where the home team can decide what sort of pitch they want to play on, Afghans being a home team decided slow turners which suited them. In this case the batters need to have more than just one game, they have to have an all round game. The minimum fitness is also required although you don't have to international level athlete to play cricket.
 
I'm no fan but too much criticism for him. Yes, he played poorly and does not merit a place given his performance. He is young and still has time. Lets hope he identifies his strengths and weaknesses and returns as a better player in future.
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"

If your trainer is giving these statements then the issue is with the trainer as much as the player.
 
Azam Khan's trainer Shehzar Mohammad in an interview:

"It's an unfair criticism on him"

"I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,"

"You like Azam's sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength,

"I am not saying Azam doesn't need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam's case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood"

"Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then. He can lose power in case of massive weight loss"

Wow no wonder azams not bothered

What kind of trainer is this fella saying saying he will lose his size and strength if he loses weight?

He doesnt seem competent in his job role at all
 
Only in pakistan being obese is regarded as strong.

And too get more strength eat more parathas 🤣
 
Azam's fitness has even regressed and sorry you can not play intl cricket with this fitness doesnt matter how many sixes u hit in psl or wven these bilaterals. Your team is always at risk of u not bending emough to collect the ball or misfielding or not being able to run 2.

Azam is actually pretty quick for his size but he needs to sort his future now. Intl cricket doesnt give u this room of being obese and getting away with it.

In second t20 he failed to collect the ball resulting in a single
And then they ran a bye with ball in his hands
He failed to collect imads straight ball because he wasnt bending
 
More than his batting, his wicket-keeping was badly exposed against Afghanistan.

Sloppy behind the stumps, a lack of agility, slow and lethargic.

He is not a wicket-keeper and is only there because he can't field in the outfield.
 
This is a very polarised opinion. I think you can get to a place where you trim down to a degree without losing your power.

Even with all the good will in the world, Azam will never seem ‘slim’ to people, even if he gets a six pack. This is because he is wide boned. That’s just the reality of it.

However, it’s also true that he’s not playing at his optimum weight.

His optimum weight is where he’s light enough to improve his keeping and reaction times, but still retaining his power.

That is the fitness level he should aim for.

The thing is we have all seen Azam at that level of fitness a couple of years ago. He was decently built, still a big guy and had a fair bit of muscle on him. But since then, he is a good 15kg heavier.

I am not sure about him. He seems agile to me. But he is not our best keeper, and we have to slot him in as a keeper because there is less faith in his out fielding.

I also suspect that the weight= Power is more of an excuse for him. I think he lacks the will to reach that optimum threshold where he is a bit leaner yet holding on to his power.
 
Should have been part of the Pakistan. Cricket squad in 2023 cricket World Cup.
 
Back
Top