Home
Pakistan's out-of-favour batter Ahmed Shehzad said that "being good-looking' caused issues for him in the dressing room. Shehzad did not name any cricketers but said that many senior players were not happy with his growing popularity.
“Being good-looking has caused me a lot of problems. In our field, if you look good, know how to dress, and speak well, some people start to resent you,” Shehzad said in a podcast with Ahmed Ali.
“I’ve been a target within the Pakistani team for this. I’m not defending myself here, but others have also faced this. If your fan following grows and people appreciate you, it’s hard for some senior players to accept,” he added.
Shehzad said that he had to work on his personality as he came from a small area from Lahore but it ended up having an unexpected impact on his cricketing career.
“We come from small areas. I lived in Anarkali, Lahore, and when I gained recognition, I worked on grooming myself and improving my personality. But this has also caused significant problems within Pakistan,” Shehzad said.
Shehzad's long hiatus
Shehzad last played at the international level for Pakistan in 2019 in a T20I clash at Lahore against Sri Lanka. In Tests and ODIs, his last appearance was in 2017. Also, the last time he played in Pakistan Super League was in 2020/21 season where he managed to score just 61 runs from seven innings. The last time he played in franchise T20 league was in 2023 edition of Bangladesh Premier League. He has not played professional cricket since May 2024.
Shehzad on PSL snub
The 33-year-old had earlier said that franchise have deliberately snubbed him in PSL draft despite his consistent performances in domestic cricket.
“I have tried really hard in domestic cricket consistently in the last few years, and did reasonably well in the National T20 Cup just before the PSL draft,” he expressed via his social media account.
“There seems a deliberate effort to keep me out, even when franchises have opted for other performers with inferior numbers than me. But when everything is pre-planned it doesn’t matter. I don’t know whose responsibility it is to get top domestic performers in the PSL then,” he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
