‘Yeh izzat hai meri...?’: Pakistan star broke down mid-match after brutal trolling in humiliating England outing

In a world where most players downplay their struggles, Pakistan’s keeper-batter, Azam Khan, has gone the other way. A recent video of a podcast of the batter has gone viral on social media, where he is heard speaking about his face-off with Mark Wood’s pace.

Azam Khan opened up on the thunderbolt bouncer from Wood at The Oval that left him rattled. The retelling of the incident reveals how tough life could be for Asian batters in England. From the raw pace of Wood to walking off to the abuse of the Oval crowd, Khan has recollected the full incident in the podcast.

My life stopped for a second: Azam Khan

Notably, the incident is from the fourth T20I of the Pakistan tour of England 2024. After a brilliant start, Pakistan suffered a collapse while batting first in the game, when Azam Khan walked out to bat with the score at 84/4.

Azam faced the first ball of Mark Wood, which was a bouncer, and he left it. The batter starts his tale from this exact moment.

Also Read: Why Sanju Samson’s Delhi Capitals trade collapsed and reignited Chennai Super Kings’ pursuit

“Mark Wood ne mujhe pehla bouncer mara. I left it. I was like, ha theek hain. Matlab sahi hain. Humare yaha bhi 150 wale bowler hain,” recollected Azam. (When Mark Wood bowled by the first bouncer. I left it. I was like, Alright, we have 150 kph bowlers in Pakistan too.)

It was the follow-up that left Azam Khan surprised. Even in his retelling of the story, he does not fail to communicate how the sheer pace of Wood caught him off guard. “When he bowled me that second bouncer. I was like, woah, yeh matlab kya hua hain mere saath? Like meri zindagi na ekdum ruk gayi, bhai ye mere saath kya hua hain!!!??”, said Azam Khan. (When he bowled me that second bouncer. I was like What has happened to me. My life just like paused for a second, and I thought about what had just happened to me.)

The batter then explains how he and his partner, Usman Khan, first thought that Azam had gotten away as the ball might have brushed his shoulders. However, the pain in his pinky finger let him know that the ball had nicked the gloves, and he decided not to take a review and walk off. The batter recollects the abuse from the Oval crowd he had to face while taking the long walk back to the pavilion.

He recounts the day further. Notably, Azam dropped a couple of catches and his memory of crying on the ground with Shadab Khan backing him haunts him till this day, said the star. One can note that it was one of the off days for him in the office and he would soon make a stronger comeback to the highest level of the game.

Azam Khan failed to score any runs in the match and walked out after facing five deliveries. Pakistan managed to post 157 in their 20 overs, which England chased down in 15.3 overs, losing only three wickets. England won the four-match series by a 2-0 margin, with two games being abandoned due to rain.

Click here to read article