Islamabad United’s wicket-keeper-batter Azam Khan on Friday said that his father — the head coach of Quetta Gladiators Moin Khan — praised him for scoring 97 runs, in the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) eighth edition. 

While talking to the media after the remarkable performance in the stadium, Azam Khan said: “When I met him [Moin Khan] after the match, he praised my innings and asked me to continue performing”.

Azam Khan thrashed the Gladiators who lost their fourth game out of five PSL 2023 matches. 

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan’s former national cricket team Captain Shahid Afridi also praised Azam Khan on his game-play. He wrote: Well played [Azam Khan] boom boom innings, fearless [PSL8]”.

Azam Khan said that “my father is my biggest inspiration.” He also said “he made me mentally so strong and always backed me to perform well despite all the odds. He already told me about the criticism and helped me fight against it.” 

I hope I will keep on making him proud,” Azam Khan added.

The right-handed batter scored 97 off just 42 balls laced with nine boundaries and eight maximums.

He helped United score 92 runs in the last five overs. His distinguished strike rate of 230.95 guided United to this tournament’s biggest score of 220-6.

“Strike rate matters a lot in T20 cricket. It’s my style of play and I really enjoy it,” said Azam Khan. 

“At the position where I bat, you get very limited time to set. In such a case, you have to be ready for hitting the ball hard,” he added.

The young batter dedicated his match-winning knock to his father and mother who watched the match in the stadium.

Azam Khan, who represented Pakistan in three T20 Internationals, said he is “fit” enough to represent the country again.

“I try to capitalise on every opportunity I get. My fitness is alright and I am ready to play for Pakistan whenever given the opportunity,” he concluded. 

It should be noted that Azam Khan was declared man of the match yesterday on his exceptional performance against the Gladiators in National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.