Pakistan's discarded Azam Khan receives special praise from T20 World Cup winner

Former England opener and one of the key players of the English team that won the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, Alex Hales was all praise for Pakistan’s young wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan for his sheer power-hitting ability after seeing him closely during the ongoing International League T20 (ILT20).

Both of them are representing the Desert Vipers franchise in the 2nd edition of the tournament which also has some star players like Shaheen Afridi, Colin Munro, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Sherfane Rutherford among others. But Alex Hales who opens up for the Vipers along with UAE’s Rohan Mustafa, feels that Azam Khan’s talent is something that he has rarely seen.

The Vipers were in action last night against the MI Emirates for match number 15 of ILT20 in Dubai which was an absolute T20 classic that went down the wire. Every single fan present in the stadium was taken aback by the type of match it turned out to be as all 40 overs were bowled across the match. 

The Emirates had set up a target of 150 as none of their batters were even able to score 30 runs. Vipers’ pacer Mohammad Amir racked up 3 wickets while Luke Wood and Matheesa Pathirana accounted for 2 wickets each and Wanindu Hasaranga registered a wicket to his name.

In response, the Desert Vipers had a crumbling start as the top order batters scored a combined 25 runs before Hasaranga and Azam Khan smashed quickfire 22 and 26 runs while Ali Nasser and Rutherford contributed 14 and 35. Tailenders – Shaheen Afridi and Luke Wood scored the winning runs in the final delivery of the 20th over to round off a scintillating win for the Vipers. 

It was just their 2nd win of the season and they are currently placed 5th in the points table, tied with 3rd, 4th, and 6th placed teams on 4 points. After the match while speaking to the media, former England international opener Alex Hales hailed Azam Khan for his brilliance as a clean striker of the ball. 

“I think he’s brilliant. He’s one of the best hitters, and strikers of a cricket ball I’ve played with. He’s absolutely brilliant. His form the last couple of years has been really good. He’s a great guy to have in your team. Really nice guy.” – Hales said. 

“The Way He Hits The Ball Is Second To None”, Alex Hales Commends Azam Khan

Alex Hales went on to say that Azam Khan has a lot of potential and that even if he got run out after a blistering 26 off 12 at a strike rate of 166, Azam’s hitting ability can not be doubted.

“He got run out today, but those things happen in cricket. I nearly got run out as well. It’s one of those things, but you can’t knock back his ability and talent. The way he hits the ball is second to none. And I think he’s got a really bright future ahead of him. He’s a brilliant player.” – Hales concluded. 

Azam Khan had a poor performance during Pakistan’s recent T20I series in New Zealand where he had scores of 10, 2, and 10. The 25-year-old will need to improve his performance if he wants to book his ticket to the USA and West Indies for the T20 World Cup in June.