‘I will be back very soon’: Shehzad baffled by World T20 axing

A successful run in the inaugural edition Pakistan Super League (PSL) was not enough for Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad to make the selectors consider him for the Asia Cup and World T20.

But the right-hander, who piled scored 290 runs in 10 PSL outings including a gutsy 64 in the high-pressure final match, said he was chopped from the squad for reasons ‘other than his performances’.

Shehzad was not named in the Pakistan squad when it was initially announced on February 10 and the 23-year-old was ignored once again when the selectors brought in another opener Sharjeel Khan and middle-order batsman Khalid Latif in a late alteration to the squad on February 22.

“I don’t understand the reason behind dropping an established player after a bad performance in one or two series,” said Shehzad.

“If performance was the only criteria then I should have been selected. I’ve performed well in the last three and a half years,” he added.

As far as performances in the international circuit are concerned, statistics contradict Shehzad’s statement.

The 23-year-old has scores of 18, 46, 7, 17, 7, 28, 4, 16, 9, and 8 in the last 10 T20s for Pakistan.

Shehzad said he was ‘satisfied’ with his performances and urged the selectors to keep a player’s ‘ability’ in mind before picking a squad.

“A player’s form can fluctuate, but ability is something that always remains consistent,” said the Lahore-born batsman.

In an apparent jibe at the team management, Shehzad, who received a lot of backing by Pakistan T20 skipper Shahid Afridi since he established himself as a regular in the national side, said he ‘expected the team to do well now that squad had been selected according to everyone’s wish.’

“The team has been selected according their [management and captain] wish and good luck to them,” he said.

The hard-hitting batsman was confident about staging an international comeback and cementing his place in the Pakistan side once again.

“I am still young and have hit 10 international centuries which is a great achievement,” he said.

“I will be back very soon.”

Reports also emerged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shaharyar Khan considered Shehzad as a better option over Khurram Manzoor for the Asia Cup and World T20.

“When they brought the initial squad for the Asia Cup and World T20 to me, I told them to consider either Sharjeel Khan or Ahmed Shehzad instead of Khurram Manzoor,” Khan was quoted.

“They insisted it was a unanimous decision. Now they themselves have brought in Sharjeel.”

Shaharyar also expressed concerns over the selection of Iftikhar Ahmed who hasn’t yet put up any notable performances for Pakistan since he came into the side late last year.

“I have told the chief selector that selection process must be non-controversial as the wrong impression should not go out of the PCB,” said Khan.

Iftikhar though has been replaced by batsman Khalid Latif for the World T20 after the latter put up some impressive performances for PSL champions Islamabad United, helping them secure the trophy.

Pakistan kick-off their Asia Cup campaign on Saturday as they take on arch-rivals India while the World T20 Super 10 round is set to start from March 16 in India.