Something or the other keeps happening in Pakistan cricket and this time around, the news is around their premier T20 tournament, Pakistan Super league (PSL). The player draft ahead of the 2024 edition took place earlier this week as all the teams built their squads for the upcoming season. But one player who wasn't picked by any team for the fourth consecutive year was Ahmed Shahzad despite the batter being in the form of his life and scoring a lot of runs in the National T20 Cup. He is extremely disappointed with constant rejection and has announced his retirement from PSL.
He took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his disappointment bidding a 'heartfelt goodbye' from the premier T20 competition in Pakistan while alleging that there has been a deliberate effort to keep him out of the PSL. "A heartfelt goodbye to Pakistan Super League! I'm writing this note which I thought I wouldn't be writing this year. Another PSL draft goes by and same old story - didn't get picked. God knows why! But they plan, and Allah plans. Indeed ALLAH is the best of Planners. I have tried really hard by giving it all in domestic circuit consistently in last few years, and did reasonably well in the National T20 Cup just before the PSL draft.
"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 so it doesn't really matter. I don't know whose
responsibility it is to get top domestic performers in the PSL then. But I exactly know the reasons why I'm not made part of the PSL - the whole country, and my fans will know it very soon," he wrote on Twitter.
Shahzad also revealed that he always kept his country ahead and never played for money and alleged all six PSL franchises of deliberately not picking him in the player draft. Moreover, the cricketer has also revealed that he declined several T20 contracts to play in Pakistan and has always made an effort to never let his country down.
"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 of it (was offered several contracts to play leagues yet chose Pakistan). 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.
Lastly, I'm thankful to all the support I've received from my fans across the world. I can only assure one thing and that's never giving in to unfair demands or accept anything which lets my country down. All I know is in this day and age being patriotic and putting your nation first goes against you. I'm thankful to my Allah that I always stood firm on my moral responsibilities and have never let myself, my family and my country down. If that's the price I have to pay for my honesty and dedication, it's really a small price to pay and I will continue doing it. Pakistan Zindabad," Shahzad further wrote.
For the unversed, Ahmed Shahzad has full right to be disappointed with the franchises for not picking him as he was one of the best performers in the National T20 Cup. He scored 344 runs in just nine matches at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 133 with four fifties to his name.
