‘Don’t need six-pack to be successful’ – Faf Du Plessis comes out in support of Azam Khan

Hard-hitting batsman Azam Khan has been the talk of the town after receiving his maiden international call-up. The dasher has been picked in Pakistan’s T20I squad for the tour of England and West Indies. Azam has been a vital cog of Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Quetta Gladiators. He can smash the ball a long way, which makes him a potent batsman in the 20-over format. However, his selection in the national side hasn’t gone down well with many.

With Azam being the son of Pakistan’s former wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan, several netizens raked up the nepotism debate. On top of this, many also raised questioned over Azam’s fitness as he weighs above 100 kilograms, despite shredding a lot of weight recently. Speaking on the matter, Faf du Plessis came out in support of his Quetta Gladiators’ teammate, saying “you don’t need to have a six-pack to be successful”.

Azam Khan has definitely got a lot of power: Faf du Plessis

“Azam Khan is a good hitter. I haven’t seen much of him since I have just played a couple of games. I think he got that one fifty there towards the end of the competition. He has definitely got a lot of power, and he takes the ball on. It will be interesting to keep an eye on him to see what he does in this last leg of the tournament. He will be very driven to do well in this last leg,” the former Proteas captain said in a conversation with Cricket Pakistan.

Azam and du Plessis joined forces in the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League. However, they didn’t get to much time together, with the tournament being suspended midway due to the COVID-19 virus. Nevertheless, PSL 2021 is set to resume on June 9 and both Azam and du Plessis and would be determined to take Quetta Gladiators to the title.

Meanwhile, the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side didn’t have a great time in the first half of PSL 2021. With just one win in five games, the Gladiators were the last in the team standings at the time of season postponement. Nevertheless, the 2019-edition champions still have five more matches in the tournament, and they must leave no stones unturned to change their fortunes.