Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad said he was deeply hurt by the way he was treated by the national team set-up which led to his axing from the team in 2016. Shehzad claimed his career was severely affected because then coach Waqar Younis presented the PCB with a report saying that Shehzad, along with Umran Malik, needed to return to the domestic circuit and work on their game in order to play for Pakistan.
“I have not seen the report myself, but a PCB official told me that these remarks have been said regarding me,” Shehzad told Cricket Pakistan. “But I believe that these things should be discussed face-to-face, and I am ready to take on that challenge. Then we will see who is right and who is wrong.”
The right-handed attacking opening batter said the words hurt his career and he was “not allowed” to present his side of the story.
“Their words hurt my career, especially since I was not allowed to present my case. This was a pre-planned approach, and they wanted to kill two birds with one stone,” he said.
Shehzad made his debut at the age of 17 in 2009. He was renowned for his aggressive approach at the top of the order. However, it was not meant to be for Shehzad. He was dropped from the Test and ODI squads after a few outings. He would still make sporadic appearances in T20Is for a few more years before being dropped again in 2019. The right-hander hasn’t played for Pakistan since then.
Shehzad who was often compared to Virat Kohli by Pakistan fans at the early part of his career said tthe former India captain’s career took off because he found mentors like MS Dhoni.
“I have said this before, and I will say it again, Kohli’s career picked off amazingly because he found MS Dhoni but unfortunately, here in Pakistan, your people cannot stand your success. Our senior players and ex-cricketers cannot digest seeing someone succeed in the cricketing world, which is unfortunate for Pakistan cricket.”
