Ex-player Salman Butt, after Pakistan’s seven-wicket defeat to England in the fourth T20I match, has advised wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan to improve his fitness; otherwise he says it will be “very difficult” for him to continue playing.
Azam made zero in the fourth T20I and was out for a duck by Mark Wood on his fifth delivery of the 11th over.
Speaking through an official YouTube channel of his, Butt noticed Azam closed his eyes while being dismissed by Wood and stressed that Azam must remember that people will always judge his fitness.
“I think people would talk about him. In today’s game how he got out was with closed eyes against a shorter ball and then also as a wicket-keeper. His fitness is never going away from scrutiny. I believe he needs to make up his mind on what career path he wants to take. He should look into his physical well-being if it isn’t going to become difficult for him.” said Butt.
Accordingly, there are certain aspects of Azam Khan’s fitness level which make him subject to criticism by Pakistani fans, according to Salman Butt.
“There is so much that can be criticized whenever he messes up as regards Azam Khan. It is because what he brings forth is open for critiquing. The kind of body shape he carries encourages criticisms against him. He had issues with short balls,” noted former cricketer Salman Butt.
Hosts won the toss and invited opposition team members bats first. England bowling unit dealt with some attacking batting from opening pair Babar Azam (36 off 22 balls including five fours and six) and Mohammad Rizwan who scored 23 runs off 16 balls hitting three fours.
However, Adil Rashid (2/27) and Moeen Ali (1/23) bowled tightly thereby putting Pakistan under pressure hence they were reduced to 86/5. A brief fight from Usman Khan (38 off 21 balls, including three fours and two sixes) and Iftikhar Ahmed (21 off 18 balls, including two fours) helped Pakistan post 157/10 in 19.5 overs.
Mark Wood (2/35), Liam Livingstone (2/17), Adil Rashid (2/27), and Moeen Ali (1/23) were the pick of the bowlers.
When they chased after 158 runs, England had the upper hand as Phil Salt smashed his way to a quickfire 45-ball that included six fours and two maximums while Buttler ended up making 39 runs off just 24 balls with seven boundaries and a six for his team during the course of power-play overs as both openers scored a record-breaking partnership of 78 in this phase.
Consequently, Rauf’s stunning return to form led to England having to wait for their win. Nonetheless, Jonny Bairstow’s unbeaten knock of 28 from just sixteen deliveries which consisted of one four along with three maximums combined with Harry Brook’s not out innings of seventeen off fourteen balls including one four and a six sealed victory inside fifteen point three overs while seven wickets still remained intact.
Adil Rashid was declared ‘Player of the Match’ for his splendid bowling performance.
