Watch: ‘Azam Khan ko team ke kareeb nahi aane dunga’ – Shahid Afridi questions under-fire Pakistan wicketkeeper’s fitness and selection – Times of India

Azam Khan won’t be in the ideal frame of mind ahead of his T20 World Cup debut after a series of below-par performances on the England tour, which led to a lot of criticism of the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, especially related to his fitness and heavyset body.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is also among the experts who have questioned 25-year-old Khan’s selection in the Pakistan squad.





“Mai kabhi bhi Azam Khan ko fitness pe team ke kareeb nahi aane dunga (I won’t let him come even near to the team based on fitness),” said Afridi while talking to a Paksitan news channel, a video clip from which has garnered attention on social media.

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Khan was brutally roasted online after his flop show on Pakistan’s tour of England continued in the fourth T20I, which the visitors lost by seven wickets.

Khan scored a five-ball duck and then dropped a couple of catches, which led to him getting trolled on social media for his uninspiring performance with both bat and as a wicketkeeper. The troll army questioned Khan’s fitness and his selection in the national team.

“I also praise him side by side. He is strong, powerful; his hitting is tremendous,” said Afridi, before talking about Khan’s wicketkeeping. “As far as ‘keeping, the ball caries in English conditions. (But) When you go to the West Indies (for the T20 World Cup), the ball won’t carry that much there, it will stay low…so you have to keep your body low.



“To keep against spinners with such fitness (on slow and low tracks), I pray to God he doesn’t struggle,” added Afridi.

However, the Pakistan team, led by skipper Babar Azam, put its arm around the young player to motivate and comfort him.

In a video on social media, captain Babar could be seen walking up to Khan, who stood dejected close to the stumps, and motivated the 25-year-old with a pat on his back and a few encouraging words.



Pakistan lost the four-match T20I series 2-0, as England won the first and the last match, while the games in Leeds and Cardiff were washed out.

The Pakistan team has already arrived in the US and will play its first Group A match against co-hosts USA in Dallas on June 6, followed by the big game against India on June 9 in New York.