ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United’s flamboyant batter Azam Khan has said that he wants to change fans’ view on his fitness and he is aiming to turn critics of his fitness into fans of his fitness.
Azam has been in superb form this season in Pakistan Super League (PSL( with 242 runs in six innings. His aggressive batting has caught everyone’s attention and fans have started talking about his possible inclusion in Pakistan’s side.
But the young batter is enjoying the current moment and wants to live in it.
“I am happy the way my PSL is going, I think I am at my best form and you don’t see this form coming quite often,” he told Geo News in an exclusive interview.
“It is not always easy to score fluently and score big while batting in middle order and in such situation the most important thing is to have positive mindset,” he said.
The 24-year-old said that hard work and practice are always important if one wants to improve his skills.
While replying to a question, Azam said that century is just a personal milestone, which has its own enjoyment but he is happy to be able to score winning runs for his team.
“I am happy and thankful for what I am able to score, there will be more opportunities to score in three figures and I will try to do that,” Azam said when asked if he regret not being able to score a century
Azam scored 72 off 41 on Friday at Pindi Cricket Stadium against Karachi Kings and while he was smashing Kings bowlers all over, the stadium was echoed with chants of “Azam, Azam.”
When asked how he felt when everyone was chanting for him in Rawalpindi, Azam said it was special for him to hear crowd chanting his name.
“It boosted my confidence, it is obviously great when you hear people cheering for you and praising you,” he said.
“I remember how these chants were against me in the start but I continued with my process and today those critics are turned into my cheerleaders, it feels good and gives me a good message. I know there are some fitness issues and I will soon turn those who critics of my fitness into fan of my fitness,” Azam said.
The youngster agreed fitness is important for him if he wants to have a long career.
Azam, when asked about Munro’s comment, said that it is good to be praised by top foreign cricketers but added that those who want to criticize would always find ways and reasons to criticize.
“You are a winner when you don’t give them such reasons, and that’s what I aim to do,” he said.
The aggressive batter said that he always wanted to play for Pakistan and he was disappointed when he didn’t get the proper run. However, Azam said that he try to live happy with what he has in his hands.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.