‘Pakistan T20 team requires players like Azam Khan’

Director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s National High Performance Centre (NHPC), Nadeem Khan, believes that the national T20 side requires hard-hitting batsmen like Azam Khan.

Azam, who is the nephew of Nadeem and son of former wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan, has impressed one and all with his power-hitting in the Pakistan Super League and other T20 leagues over the last couple of years.

“Azam Khan’s future can be ruined because of me because whenever he will be selected, people will say that he is the nephew of Director High Performance. Jokes apart but this is a bit of cultural issue in Pakistan,” Nadeem chuckled.

“He has improved his performance considerably over the last couple of years which is a good sign. Our T20 team also requires a player like him but he needs to improve his fitness first which is why he has been asked to attend the camp by the chief selector,” he added. 

He also gave a detailed response on Cricket Clubs (CC) and City Cricket Associations (CCA) registration process and the fees involved.

“Registration fees was part of club cricket previously as well but it has increased slightly due to inflation,” he said. “Also, the money which he collect in the process will be transferred to the relevant CC and CCA. The PCB has started the registration process on their behalf because they are not operational at the moment.”

“PCB started the registration process because we want to ensure that CCA cricket, which was previously known as district cricket, and CC begins before the start of next season. Yes, there was a delay in putting things in place but this will help players become eligible for selection, which was not happening for the past couple of years,” he added.

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He also opened up about the postponement of PSL season six, after multiple Covid-19 cases, and the criticism regarding PCB’s bio-secure bubble arrangements. 

“I don’t think it is fair to blame one party for this issue [PSL postponement]. Firstly, it is important that we accept our mistakes because if you don’t do that then there is no chance of improvement. We realised our mistakes and held meetings at the top level inorder to get to the bottom of this matter,” he said.

“PSL is a big product, not just for cricket but for the entire country. We will ensure that we deliver the remaining matches in the best possible manner and don’t repeat the mistakes we made in the past,” he concluded.