Pakistan's assistant coach Azhar Mahmood was miffed at a journalist's question, indirectly related to Azam Khan being spotted at a fast-food stall in New York following the T20 World Cup 2024 clash against India. The former all-rounder asserted that there is life outside cricket and that going to have food outside remains their only entertainment.
A video surfaced on social media on Monday as Azam Khan was spotted hogging at a fast-food stall, drawing criticism from the netizens. The 25-year-old has already been facing flak for his lack of fitness and notably registered a duck on his T20 World Cup debut.
With the reporter raising doubts on whether the cricketers have been following relevant diet plans, Mahmood asserted that life still goes on, regardless of what match results are and players need something to relax.
"Match waale din dekha aapne? Cricket ground mein kheli jaati hai, cricket ke alaawa bhi life hai. Aap vahin they, maine aapko bhi dekha wahan pe. We fans are quite emotional. Yeh nahin hai ki match haar jaaye toh life khatam ho jaaye. Aap match haarne ke baad kaise karenge, kamre ke deewaron ko takkarein maarenge. Aapko thoda kuch chahiye hota hai mind ko relax karne ka.
(Did you see the match day? Brother, cricket is played on the ground. There is life beyond cricket. You were there. I'm telling you; you were there. I saw you there too. The thing is, we are a very emotional nation. I mean, it's not possible that if you lose a match, your life will be over. Yes. How will you do it? If you lose a match and then you come to the room and bang the walls of the room, then you need a little time to relax your mind.")
"If we had won, you wouldn't be asking me this question" - Azhar Mahmood
Mahmood continued replying to the reporter, claiming that such questions wouldn't have come if Pakistan had won that day.
"Main English teams ke saath bhi raha hoon. Aap khana khaane jaa sakte ho, hamaara entertainment toh yehi hai bhai. Aap mujhe bataaiye diet plan kaun nahin follow kar raha. Duniya ki saari teams karti hai. Hum jab haarte hain toh lagta hai, yeh cheez nahin follow kar rahe. Agar hum jeete hote toh aap yeh question na karte."
(Now, obviously, our players are not like that. I've been with English teams, too. If they go to a place like that, you can only go to eat, that's our entertainment. Now tell me, who's not following a diet plan? All the teams in the world do it. There's no such thing. When we lose, we feel that we are not following this; we are not following that. If we had won, you wouldn't be asking me this question.")
Pakistan must beat Canada on Tuesday to stay alive in the tournament.
