Islamabad United's Azam Khan said that his father always backed him to perform well despite all odds, and that the former international cricketer was his biggest inspiration. He said that he was in a "great zone" as he played cricket around the world.
The 24-year-old, the son of Moin Khan, stole the limelight with his blitzkrieg in the 13th match against Quetta Gladiators during the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Friday. Speaking to the media after the performance of a master-blaster, Khan said that his father who is head coach of Gladiators, praised him.
"When I met him after the match, he praised my innings and asked me to continue performing well," disclosed the hard-hitting batter.
"My father is my biggest inspiration. He made me mentally so strong and always backed me to perform well despite all the odds," he said.
"He told me about the criticism and helped me fight against it. I hope I will keep making him proud."
Azam hit a blistering innings of 97 runs off just 42 balls against the Gladiators, who lost their fourth game out of five. He hit nine boundaries and eight maximums.
With an impressive strike rate of 230.95, the right-handed batsman helped United pile up 92 runs in the last five overs as the team came up with the 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 Khan. "At the position where I bat, you get very limited time to set. As such, you have to be ready for hitting the ball hard," he added.
Azam said he believed in mindset instead of technique. However, he added, he has to practise a lot for new shots.
The young batter dedicated his match-winning knock to his father and mother who watched the match in the stadium."I feel myself under a lot of pressure when my mother and father come to view the match," he said.
Khan, who represented Pakistan in three T20 Internationals, said he was 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.