Amid obesity-related severe criticism on social media over Pakistani power hitter Azam Khan’s failure to impress in the latest three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, the cricketer’s trainer has come out in his support.
Azam — who could score just a single in two matches against the neighbours — suffered severe bashing for his poor reflexes behind the stumps, which also revived the weight and fitness taunts once again.
Fans and also former cricketers questioned the wicketkeeper’s fitness.
However, Khan’s trainer Shehzar Muhammad, who has trained many of Pakistan’s leading cricketers, including Azam and has played first-class cricket himself, termed the criticism on weight “unfair”.
“I know an athlete should look like an athlete but Azam falls in a heavyweight category. Unfortunately, there are no divisions in cricket like other sports such as boxing and UFC. His weight helps him generate power,” Mohammad said.
Under Shehzar’s supervision a couple of years ago, Azam lost over 30kgs. His new look surprised many as it showed the hard work put in by the cricketer.
“You like Azam’s sixers, his strike rate and his potential to take over the game within no time. All of that comes from his size and strength.
“I am not saying Azam doesn’t need to get fit. If I give you the example of Rizwan and Shan, they are super fit and it helps them remain consistent. In Azam’s case, there is a difference as he is heavy weight since childhood,” he highlighted.
Shehzar said that Azam can lose weight but it depends on how he is looked after then.
“He can lose power in case of massive weight loss,” the trainer maintained.
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