Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt added that keeper-batter Azam Khan will be criticized for his poor fitness whenever he fails to do well. The youngster faced back-to-back failures in Pakistan’s recently concluded four-match T20I series against England. The first and third T20I were washed out due to rain as well. However, Azam scored 11 runs in the second game and was dismissed for a five-ball duck in the fourth and final contest on Thursday, May 30 as well.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt said: “Everything related to Azam Khan will be criticized whenever he doesn’t perform. This is because what he presents is open to criticism. He invites criticism with the kind of fitness he carries. He had problems against the short ball.”

ALSO READ: Kirti Azad welcomes BCCI’s new directive in central contract

“People are going to speak about him. The way he got out today, his eyes were closed while facing the short ball, and then his wicketkeeping. His fitness is always going to be under the scanner. I think he has to decide on his career. He should work on his fitness, otherwise, it is going to be very difficult for him to play,” he again shared.

Meanwhile, Azam Khan’s keeping was also quite poor in the fourth T20I as he dropped two catches as well. England registered a 2-0 series
win over Pakistan to gather momentum before the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, Azam is part of Pakistan’s squad for the mega event.

“Shadab Khan isn’t someone who should be batting at No. 4. Yes, there might be an odd good knock, but if you bat at one position regularly, you might do well once in a while. He is not having a good time. His first two overs were good in this game. But his confidence went downhill after after Bairstow hit him for two sixes,” Salman Butt concluded.