Pakistan Captain Comes In Support Of Azam Khan Despite Disappointing Performance Against England

The 2009 T20 World Cup champions have been going through worst form after facing an upset from the Ireland team in the 3-match T20I series. They lost the 5-match T20I series against the defending champions by 2-0 after 3 matches were called abandoned. It was the last series the Men in Gren were playing before the start of the Marquee event, which will be taking place in the USA and West Indies from June 2nd, 2024.

Pakistan team have announced their 15-men squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where they have picked former Pakistan captain Moin Khan's son Azam Khan despite knowing about his fitness standards on the field, which has become a point of concern for the Shaheens due to perceptions of nepotism in the Pakistan team.

Azam Khan has a reputation for being a big hitter in the shortest format of the game, which he has done by performing in different leagues around the World. But when it comes to the national side, the wicket-keeper batsman is unable to prove himself, as in the last game of the series against the England team, he got dismissed after playing five balls on duck while Facing a short delivery from Mark Wood, he mis-hit the ball, which resulted in an easy catch behind the stumps. Due to this, Pakistan managed to score only 157 runs in 19.5 overs, a target England surpassed comfortably, finishing at 158/3 in just 15.3 overs to secure a seven-wicket victory. 

Throwing light on this, the Pakistan captain Babar Azam comes in support of Azam Khan and Shadab Khan, who are unable to perform in the last 2 series against Ireland and England. During the post-match presentation conference, Babar said that the middle order would step up during the T20 World Cup 2024 as it is important to back up players when they are not performing. He also said that the selection of players in the T20 World Cup is based on experience and performance overall. 

"First six overs, we played very well. After that, the momentum shifted as wickets fell. Our middle-order needs to step up. You need 2-3 good overs in the middle and in the death as well. England's bowling was very good. Hopefully we don't do this in the World Cup. We made a couple of changes due to the injuries. Our power play was good. We have played good cricket in patches," Babar Azam had said after series defeat vs England. 

For the T20 World Cup, Men in Green are placed in Group A, alongside Canada, India, Ireland and the USA. Shaheens will open their campaign on June 6, taking on the USA in Texas.