The Pakistan cricket team has a history of mishandling the players. There is always this problem with the side about not believing in giving a player a consistent run in the national side. Remember the case of Khushdil Shah? He found his feet in the ODI cricket after sometime of playing international cricket but then eventually was left out from the format due to his poor outings in the T20i format.
And remember how Mohammad Ali was left out from the Test squad after just one series that took his debut series against England in Rawalpindi in 2022?
Recently, Pakistan’s former wicket-keeper player Moin Khan questioned Pakistan’s treatment of Azam Khan. Khan has made his T20 debut but never given a consistent chance to date. The wicket-keeper batter was part of the England and Ireland series leading up to the T20 World Cup 2024, but he was dropped after just one game in the World Cup.
Taking this situation into account. Moin Khan told CricketPakistan how PCB is mishandling the case of Azam Khan.
“I watched the entire World Cup and the matches leading up to it, and it seemed like Azam was the number one choice for wicket keeping and batting,” Moin told Cricket Pakistan. “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],” Moin said.
“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?”
Moin also admitted that many times Azam is rightly criticized due to his poor fitness and also revealed that his son is trying to work on the areas where he is lacking.
“I’m not saying that all the blame lies with the team management and the captain; Azam has his own shortcomings too,” Moin said. “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.”
Besides this, Moin also was disappointed how PCB took back captaincy from Shaheen Shah after just one series and said that captains should be given a longer run so that players can respect and listen to the captains instead of taking them for-granted.
“Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team and is highly liked by the players. He is an excellent choice for captaincy in T20s,” Moin said. “In white-ball cricket, I don’t see anyone else suitable for the role. Removing him from the captaincy was unjust.”
“Players may not listen to their captain if there are constant changes,” he said. “If the cricket board provides full support to the captain and assures them of a long-term responsibility, the team’s performance will improve.”
It is eminent to mention that Azam Khan opted out from the ongoing Champions Cup to play in the CPL.
