Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan has hit back at critics of his fitness, saying he was unfairly blamed for the team's poor 2024 T20 World Cup campaign after facing only one ball. In the latest Azam Khan fitness debate, he said on the Backward Point Podcast that Pakistan's fittest players had also failed to chase 120 runs against India. His remarks shift the argument from one player's performance to the whole batting line-up.
What Azam said on the podcast
Azam said that everything had been pinned on him during the 2024 tournament, even though he played only one game and faced one delivery. "All your fittest players didn't do anything either," he said, before asking how critics could talk about fitness and skills when the side could not chase 120. He pointed to the batting collapse against India as the real problem.
He featured only in the opening match against the USA, where he was dismissed for a golden duck, meaning he was out without scoring. He was dropped for the India match and did not play another game in the tournament. Azam believes it was unfair to hold him responsible for the whole campaign.
The India match and Pakistan's exit
Pakistan lost to India by six runs in New York on June 9, 2024, despite being in a strong position to win. India were bowled out for 119, and Pakistan needed only 48 runs from the final eight overs with eight wickets in hand. Jasprit Bumrah then took 3/14, and Pakistan collapsed to 113/7 in their 20 overs.
Mohammad Rizwan was the top scorer with 31 off 44 balls, while Babar Azam managed 13. The defeat came days after a Super Over loss to the USA, a tiebreaker played when a match ends level. Pakistan finished in the group stage without qualifying for the Super Eight, the tournament's next round.
Fitness criticism and the blame game
Azam has frequently faced criticism over his fitness, and this exchange shows how sharply he rejects being singled out. His argument is that the criticism was selective: the batting collapsed in a chase of 120, yet attention fell on his fitness. Azam Khan fitness questions have come up before, but on this podcast he chose to answer them by pointing to the performances of others.
For now, the exchange leaves open a question that fans will recognise: whether one player's fitness should be judged more harshly than a team's collective failure.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Azam Khan ne kaha hai ke 2024 T20 World Cup mein unhon ne sirf aik match khela aur sirf aik ball khela, phir bhi unhein tamam nakami ka zimma diya gaya. Unka kehna hai ke India ke khilaf 120 ka target na chase ho sakna sirf unki wajah se nahi tha, aur sirf fitness par sawal uthana insaf nahi. Pakistan India se chhe run se haar gaya aur group stage se bahar ho gaya. Cricket fans ke liye ye yaad dilata hai ke team ki kamzori par bahas aksar fitness aur blame par ghoomti hai.
