Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and opener Ahmed Shehzad had a rather strong conversation as they discussed the latter’s absence from the national team.
Pakistan’s star batter Ahmed Shehzad has been making headlines of late for statements over his absence from the national setup. Shehzad last played for Pakistan in 2019 in a T20I, and last month, he openly criticised the management, the coaching staff and former coaches for ‘spoiling and hurting’ his career. Interestingly, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja was asked to respond to Shehzad’s comments, and the former cricketer shunned his statements, insisting that it was “pure frustration.”
On Tuesday, Shehzad made an appearance on Pakistan’s television channel Samaa TV, where former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was also a part of the expert panel. Shehzad had played under Afridi for a large part of his international career, and as the conversation moved to the Pakistan opener’s absence from the team, Afridi insisted that his support to Shehzad as captain also played a role in the latter’s ouster from the team.
“Ahmed was targeted because of me because I supported him a lot. I gave him a lot of chances, which turned out to be a negative thing for him when I left captaincy. I think people thought he was my favourite,” Afridi said.
“I supported him a lot because I wasn’t finding an opener of his ability in Pakistan. He was performing as well. Obviously, he couldn’t perform in all games but he was targeted because of me as well.”
Shehzad, however, was surprised at Afridi’s comment. “Shahid bhai, listen. I don’t know why you said that. You’ve been a elder brother to me, you can say anything to me. Sometimes, it does hurt me, but you have always been a elder brother to me,” said the Pakistan player.
Afridi, then, interrupted him by saying he wants Shehzad to score runs, to which the Pakistan batter said that he should at least be given opportunities to play.
“I want you to score runs, enjoy your life with your wife and kids. Allah has made life beautiful for you,” Afridi said, and Shehzad replied, “I keep saying that. I want to score runs, but at least don’t deny me the platforms where I can score. I will ask you, when sides in PSL want to pick me, who comes in and says no? You tell me, where do I score runs? At my home?”
