Ahmed Shehzad’s recent outburst on Pakistan Super League franchises not picking him in the draft a few days back opens a question for his fans. Why exactly did franchises not pick Ahmed Shehzad for PSL 2024? Is he not the same player of calibre that he was once used to? Or have the franchises opted more for newer, fresher youngsters?
To answer those questions, we will break down Shehzad’s recent performances in the National T20 Cup and PSL performances over the years to determine whether franchises did the right thing in not picking him again.
The outburst given by Ahmed Shehzad for PSL 2024
On Friday, December 15 at 11 am PKT time, Shehzad tweeted on Twitter X “A heartfelt goodbye!” where he expressed his disappointment from not being considered for the country’s league.
“I’m parting ways and saying goodbye to Pakistan Super League for my own self respect. I’ve never played for money and will never do it. While many chose international leagues across the globe, I decided to grind in the domestic circuit to prove my love for the game, and to wear the Green Flag again. I’m taking this decision keeping money out. I will not play the PSL again with these 6 teams. It seems like a shared responsibility to keep me away from PSL, and all franchises have shaken hands.”
In his message, he stated that he will never play for the PSL ever again with Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.
Ahmed has played for two teams in the Pakistan Super League; Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans. Here’s a table of his performance over the years;
| Year | Teams | Inns | Runs | Average | SR | 50+ | Best |
| 2016 | QG | 10 | 290 | 29.00 | 143.56 | 2 | 71 |
| 2017 | QG | 9 | 242 | 26.88 | 132.24 | 3 | 71 |
| 2018 | MS | 9 | 173 | 19.22 | 85.22 | 0 | 38 |
| 2019 | QG | 8 | 311 | 51.83 | 126.93 | 4 | 99 |
| 2020 | QG | 7 | 61 | 8.61 | 95.31 | 0 | 12 |
| Total | 43 | 1077 | 26.26 | 120.06 | 9 | 99 | |
Since 2020, Ahmed has not represented any franchise in the league. And now after being unpicked for 4th season straight, it seems that Shehzad has had it enough and called out the franchises.
Also Read: Asad Shafiq’s retirement: the last vestige of a golden era
How have domestic performances since 2020?
It is important to know whether the team owners did justice in not picking Ahmed Shehzad in PSL 2024. We will look at his National T20 performances, especially the recent one to determine whether he was done fairly or not.
| Year | Inns | Runs | Average | SR | 50+ | Best |
| 2021 | 11 | 344 | 31.27 | 128.35 | 1 | 77 |
| 2022 | 4 | 68 | 17.00 | 111.47 | 0 | 26 |
| 2023 | 9 | 344 | 43.00 | 133.33 | 4 | 81 |
| Total | 24 | 756 | 31.5 | 128.79 | 5 | 81 |
These are his records in the domestic twenty20 competition since 2020. Over the past three years, this would look a bit ordinary. However, the 2023 tournament saw him do well and could have made a case to be picked.
But there’s a breakdown done by a few people to differentiate Ahmed’s performances against weaker and stronger teams in the NT20 2023.
| Year | Inns | Runs | Average | SR | 50+ | Best |
| Teams did not qualify for Super 8 | 3 | 213 | 106.50 | 143.92 | 3 | 81 |
| Teams qualified for Super 8 | 6 | 131 | 21.83 | 119.09 | 1 | 53 |
| Total | 9 | 344 | 43.00 | 133.33 | 4 | 81 |
Perhaps this big gap in performances against quality teams has questioned the decision of the owners of the PSL teams about picking Ahmed Shehzad for the future.
With the Pakistan Super League not expanding their team roster from six anytime soon, we may not see the opening batter representing the league. Whether it is deliberate from the franchises, pre-planned or whatever it may be, one thing is for sure over the years Ahmed has brought this upon himself.
Former coach Waqar Younis, after the national team’s poor run in the 2016 T20 World Cup, had presented a scathing report to the PCB about the team’s overall performance which included Shehzad and Umar Akmal for their “troublesome attitude” and that they should play domestic cricket to get their spot back. Shehzad was unhappy with these comments.
Ahmed may have given some good performances in the past few years, but they haven’t been very convincing. Wahab Riaz, the new chief selector, also questioned this when asked whether the opening batter deserved to be back in the side after a half-good season. However, he did not rule out Ahmed’s comeback.
Ahmed Shehzad last represented Pakistan in 2019.
Read More
