Pakistan’s treatment of Azam Khan shattered his confidence, says father Moin

Former keeper-batter and Pakistan great Moin Khan has come out in support of his son, Azam Khan, saying the team management’s treatment of him during the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas completely shattered his confidence. Azam Khan was the number one pick in the XI in the lead-up to the tournament, and just after his only outing (during the game against the USA), the management dropped him.

Azam Khan, who kept wickets in his maiden T20 WC game versus the USA, got out on a first-ball duck in the first innings. Agreeing on his mediocre outing, which saw Pakistan losing the match in the super-over, Moin said regardless of that, management showed no faith in him as the youngster warmed benches for the remainder part of their campaign.

"I watched the entire World Cup and the matches leading up to it, and it seemed like Azam was the number one choice for wicketkeeping and batting," Moin told news agencyPTI.

"Then suddenly, after just one match, the entire strategy was changed."

"Azam wasn't given a chance to keep wickets after one match and was dropped after getting out on the very first ball [against USA]. Any player can get out on the first ball, but here, the tradition of developing players that used to exist is no longer there. Whether it's the captain or the management, if they make such quick changes to players, how can we produce good players?" he continued.

After that game against the USA, Pakistan faced arch-rivals India next, losing that game too, but instead of Azam, seasoned campaigner Mohammad Rizwan kept wickets.

Meanwhile, two losses in two matches meant Pakistan had to win the remaining two to cruise ahead, and although they did beat Canada (far from convincing), their final game (against Ireland) getting washed out crushed their hopes, as they got ruled out of the tournament.

Azam working on his fitness

Down and shattered following the T20 WC episode, Azam Khan has returned to the training ground, working on his fitness, for which he suffered the wrath for a major part of his professional career, says his father.

"I'm not saying that all the blame lies with the team management and the captain; Azam has his own shortcomings too. He needs to make himself physically and mentally stronger and follow the fitness routines of other sportsmen.

"For the past month or so, I've noticed he's been working hard to improve his fitness with his trainer, Shehzar Mohammad, even taking him along to the Caribbean [Premier] League. I hope Azam has learned a lot from this experience,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)