Dejected Ahmad Shahzad quits PSL over ‘deliberate snub’ by teams

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan cricketer Ahmad Shahzad announced on Friday that he was parting ways with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after not being picked by any of the six franchises in the recent player drafting, which he said seemed like a “deliberate effort” to keep him out of the T20 showpiece. The player drafting for the 2024 edition of the PSL took place in Lahore earlier this week. The six franchises — Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars, and Islamabad United — selected numerous players across six categories: “Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Emerging, and Supplementary.” However, Shahzad wasn’t selected by any of them. It’s worth noting that he was part of the Lahore Region Whites team in a recent National T20 Cup. Expressing his disappointment for not being chosen by any of the franchises, Shahzad conveyed his frustration on X (formerly Twitter), starting with: “Another PSL draft goes by and same old story — didn’t get picked. God knows why!” He said he had tried “really hard by giving it all in domestic circuit consistently” in last few years, adding that is performance in the National T20 Cup was also “reasonably well”. “There seems a deliberate effort to keep me out, even when franchises have opted for other performers with inferior numbers than me,” he lamented. Shahzad said he knows “exactly the reasons why I’m not made part of the PSL — the whole country, and my fans will know it very soon”.

Terming his non-inclusion a “pre-planned” move, he said he had decided to part ways [with the league] and “saying goodbye to Pakistan Super League for my own self respect. I’ve never played for money and will never do it.” He said he was taking the decision to “keep money out of it”, adding that he was “offered several contracts to play leagues yet chose Pakistan”. He said he was thankful to 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,” he added. Shahzad has previously played for both Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans in the PSL. His most recent participation in the league was with Quetta in 2020.