Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has defended Azam Khan after the wicketkeeper received abuse on social media following a poor series against England.
Latif said that Khan is under "immense pressure" following the series, in which he was out for a duck in the final match at The Oval. Khan has since disabled comments on his Instagram account and deleted all of his photos.
"He is under immense pressure. He is being body shamed, is being trolled," Latif said in an interview with the Indian Express. “Azam is an exceptional batsman in T20s. He is a clean hitter, plays spinners well, has worked on his game against the pacers. But I will not rate him as a keeper. It is nothing to do with his fitness, but because he doesn’t have that experience. He is still very new and raw to international level.”
Khan has previously spoken about his experiences with social media abuse. In an interview on Geo News last year, he revealed that he kept a poster on his wall which listed all of the names he had been called, including: “Parchi, aloo (potato), mota (fat), sifarshi, nepotism, gainda (rhino), baby elephant.”
On the pitch, Khan looked uncomfortable facing pace bowling against England, and was out to a bouncer from Mark Wood, gloving the ball behind for a duck. He then dropped several catches when keeping, as Pakistan lost the match by seven wickets with 27 balls remaining.
“Pakistan’s No.1 keeper should be Mohammed Rizwan," said Latif. “Rizwan is Pakistan’s best keeper and has been a warrior for this team. He has played in the last two T20I World Cups and was exceptional.
“I will not blame the player. Mohammad Haris is fit, more agile and in good form. If you wanted a third keeper, he should have been the ideal choice. I will not comment on Azam’s physique, I can comment on his batting, his form, his keeping, his selection. We live in a racist society. If someone’s skin colour is black, we call them kaalu. If someone is fair, we call them gora. If someone is tall he is a lambu, if someone is skinny he is a patlu. I feel bad for the kid, he is only 25. He doesn’t deserve to be trolled like this.”
While Khan is in Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad, Rizwan could take over the gloves from Khan. Khan has played 13 T20Is for Pakistan, scoring 88 runs at an average of 9.77.
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