Cricket
Azam Khan caught snacking at a food truck midnight in New York, Pakistan coach irked by ‘diet plan’ question
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Just when you thought things couldn’t go worse for Pakistan, they have miraculously found a way to do so. Right after the defeat to India – their second of the T20 World Cup – batter Azam Khan was seen on the streets of New York munching around the food truck. Azam, who has copped plenty of flak over his form and fitness, was dropped for the match against India, but the fact that he was seen at a fast-food joint in the mid-night promises to land the Pakistan batter in hotter waters.
A video of the same has emerged, and while his face wasn’t clearly visible, his presence was indirectly confirmed by Pakistan’s assistant coach, Azhar Mahmood. Multiple reports suggested that Azam was grabbing a snack when certain journalists spotted him. The wicketkeeper batter even spoke to a few people from the media. No one, including Azam, denied that he was there, but the picture became clearer with Mahmood’s admission.
Ahead of Pakistan’s must-win game against Canada, as the former all-rounder sat down to address the press conference, he was visibly irked with the final question. The queries were supposed to be around the Canada game, but the journalist was allowed to shoot away a question on what transpired after Pakistan lost to India.
Azam Khan’s video that’s gone viral:
“The way we saw the journey from Dallas to New York, we see that players are given a diet plan. The players are given different rules and regulations. We went to different places. Because the team is losing and losing badly, we saw the players going to different places at 1:00 or 1:30 at night. We kept watching how and what they were doing,” asked the reporter.
Mahmood’s reply
Mahmood, clearly miffed with the ‘diet plan’ question, replied: “Did you see the match day? Brother, cricket is played on the ground. There is life beyond cricket. You were there. I’m telling you; you were there. I saw you there too. The thing is, we are a very emotional nation. I mean, it’s not possible that if you lose a match, your life will be over. Yes. How will you do it? If you lose a match and then you come to the room and bang the walls of the room, then you need a little time to relax your mind.
“Now, obviously, our players are not like that. I’ve been with English teams, too. If they go to a place like that, you can only go to eat, that’s our entertainment. Now tell me, who’s not following a diet plan? All the teams in the world do it. There’s no such thing. When we lose, we feel that we are not following this; we are not following that. If we had won, you wouldn’t be asking me this question.”
It’s unclear whether Azam will return to Pakistan’s Playing XI for Tuesday night’s fixture against Canada. With Pakistan under severe pressure to stay alive and injury concerns to Imad Wasim, Azam may or may not be a bad option. Criticism was hurled at Azam left, right, and centre for his performance against the USA – by none other than the great Wasim Akram – where he scored a duck and had unconvincing wicket-keeping skills.
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