Azam Khan shown no mercy after flop show vs England as PCB, Babar Azam accused of 'nepotism'

Azam Khan was dismissed for a five-ball duck against England, and fell victim to trolls who pointed out his selection as nepotism.

Azam Khan's selection for Pakistan's T20 World Cup team created plenty of controversy, due to his position as son of former national team skipper Moin Khan. Now his form has also not helped his cause, and has given more impetus to fans to criticise his selection.

Pakistan's Azam Khan walks back to the changing rooms after losing his wicket. (AP)

The wicketkeeper-batter was dismissed for a five-ball duck in Pakistan's fourth T20I against England. Receiving a short delivery by Mark Wood, Aam could only loop it into the air, for a simple catch behind the stumps. Pakistan could only post 157 in 19.5 overs. Meanwhile, England reached 158/3 in 15.3 overs, winning by seven wickets.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said, “Azam Khan is an embarrassment to international cricket.”

Meanwhile, another fan wrote, “PCB ko chahiye keh ICC se baat kar ke Azam Khan ki jagah 60, 60 kg walay 2 players khila le.”

Another fan wrote, “No sane team will play Azam Khan again until he sorts out his fitness!”

One fan wrote, “Azam Khan is the best example of nepotism in our country. Mediocrity rules here in every department. Shameless people who persisted with him must be charged and sentenced. This is a criminal act not a simple mistake.”

Here are the other reactions-

For the T20 World Cup, Pakistan are placed in Group A, alongside Canada, India, Ireland and the USA. Babar Azam and Co. will open their campaign on June 6, taking on the USA in Texas.

Speaking after Pakistan's defeat in the series vs England, Babar said, "First six overs, we played very well. After that, the momentum shifted as wickets fell. Our middle-order needs to step up. You need 2-3 good overs in the middle and in the death as well. England's bowling was very good. Hopefully we don't do this in the World Cup. We made a couple of changes due to the injuries. Our powerplay was good. We have played good cricket in patches."