“Targeted Because Of Me”: Shahid Afridi On Pakistan’s Out-Of-Favour Batter. While Shehzad played the majority of his cricket under Afridi’s captaincy, the former Pakistan captain believes the batter was targeted because of him.
Out-of-favour Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad is hoping to make a comeback for the national team. Shehzad was dropped from the Pakistan team in 2019 after a poor run with the bat, which was followed by a long-term injury that kept him out of the game. However, the 30-year-old has openly blamed his demise on management and former coaches. Shehzad recently appeared on Pakistan’s Samaa TV, where he was debated alongside former captain Shahid Afridi.
Shehzad played most of his cricket under Shahid Afridi captaincy
The former Pakistan captain believes the batter was targeted because of him.
“Ahmed was targeted as a result of my strong support for him. I gave him a lot of chances, which turned out to be a bad thing for him after I retired and left captaincy. People assumed he was close to me. I was very supportive of him because I couldn’t find an opener of his caliber in Pakistan. He was also performing. Obviously, he couldn’t play in every game, but he was also targeted because of me “Afridi stated this during a debate on Samaa TV.
Shehzad, on the other hand, was taken aback by Afridi’s remarks and responded: “Listen, Shahid bhai. I’m not sure why you said that. You’ve been my elder brother, so you can say whatever you want to me. It hurts me at times, but you’ve always been like an older brother to me.”
Afridi then interrupted Shehzad, saying that he wants him to score runs and enjoy himself, to which the Lahore-born batter responded that he should be given opportunities to play.
“I want you to hit home runs and enjoy your life with your wife and children. Allah has made your life beautiful. That is something I keep saying “Afridi continued.
“I want to score runs, but please don’t deny me the platforms to do so. I’ll ask you, who comes in and says no when sides in the PSL want to pick me? You tell me where I should score runs. At my house? “Shehzad responded.
Notably, Shehzad recently played for Central Punjab in the Pakistan Cup, scoring 456 runs at an average of 456 in 11 matches.
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