Pakistan and Desert Vipers star Azam Khan using criticism to fuel his game ahead of new ILT20 season

Wicketkeeper-batter on his famous father and dealing with the social media trolls

Azam Khan signs a young fan's shirt at the Desert Vipers kit launch in Dubai on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. Photo: Desert Vipers

Being the son of a famous cricketer and growing up around the sport does not guarantee a smooth path into a playing career, as Azam Khan would tell you.

Azam’s career was especially tough early on because of frequent social media slurs stemming from the fact he is the son of Moin Khan, a prominent member of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning side, and then captain, coach and chief selector.

At 26, Azam is carving out a name for himself as a successful wicketkeeper-batsman and will be a danger man for Desert Vipers in the upcoming ILT20 season. Back in February, he struck an 18-ball half century for Vipers, the fastest fifty in ILT20 history.

For Azam, it's high time he enjoys his cricket after those difficult early years.

“I have overcome that. I don’t care about what others say but just get on with my cricket, which I love and pursue full time,” Azam told The National at the Desert Vipers’ kit launch in Dubai on Wednesday.

“The criticism and the slandering directed at me was very depressing, and it remained as a stigma for a long time, just because my father was a celebrity cricketer.”

Azam made his international debut for Pakistan in a T20I against England in the summer of 2021 but then missed out on that year's T20 World Cup having initially been named in the squad.

His Pakistan career resumed earlier this year as he was picked for the series against Ireland where he did enough to nail down a spot for the World Cup in the United States and West Indies.

Azam's strong frame has seen him emerge as a spectacular power hitter and in-demand franchise cricketer, but has also led to criticism and online jibes about his fitness.

“I don’t care about it anymore,” said Azam. “I have overcome that and honestly, I just want to enjoy my cricket as I think I’m privileged enough to choose a profession that I love and get paid for it. This is the only thing that I know I could do. So, I am doing that and I am really happy.

“People can talk about that I’m overweight and fitness issues and all that. I think fitness is very important. It's not just because you want to play international cricket. It's because you want to prolong your career.

“Maybe I can get success at this weight as well. For me, T20 cricket is all about skill level. There is fitness but I would take players on my team who would change the game for me and for my team.”

Azam made an argument for his skill set over his fitness, stressing the need to score sixes and fours in the shorter formats to win matches.

“I'm not saying that fitness is not important. Fitness is important, but you have to keep a balance between both – the ability to score boundaries. You just can't be, like, fitness all the time. You have to work on your skills as well. So, if you keep things balanced, then you achieve your goals.

“To be very honest, I think I’m more than privileged to have a celebrity father, but I must also admit it was very tough for me to be mentally strong in every situation and every game.”

Azam will play in next month’s Champions Cup in Pakistan and join Desert Vipers for the ILT20 in January.

“The ILT20 is one of my favourite tournaments. I was there with the Desert Vipers in the first year as well, but somehow I couldn't play the tournament,” he said.

Azam picked out youngsters Tanish Suri, Dhruv Pareshar and Ali Naseer as young UAE players with a lot of potential.

“I have seen three guys that we had in our team. I have seen them play. The ILT20 would certainly benefit them a lot because of the international experience they would gain,” he said when asked of the UAE cricketers who can make it big in franchise cricket.

“They are playing international cricket right now, but playing with the Test playing nations and players from the Test playing nations will give them the experience moving forward.”