Mohammad Shahzad: “I don’t see myself playing anymore”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman has revealed that he is leaning towards the prospect of quitting cricket after he claims he was removed from the country’s World Cup squad for no reason at all.
Shahzad was recently ruled out for the remainder of the World Cup due to a knee injury and replaced by fellow wicketkeeper-batsman Ikram Alikhil.
It was said that Shahzad suffered a recurrence of the injury he sustained during Afghanistan’s World Cup warm-up match against Pakistan, during which he retired hurt.
However, Shahzad insists that he was fully fit and accused the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) of pulling him “out of the squad by force”.
However, ACB chief executive Asadullah Khan made it clear that Shahzad had indeed suffered an injury as a medical report showed that Shahzad had sustained a mild ACL strain in his left knee.
“It’s absolutely wrong to say that he was unfairly dropped,” Asadullah told ESPNcricinfo. “We have given a medical report to the ICC to prove that he is unfit, and after thorough deliberation they allowed us to replace him. He is our main batsman, who can make a big difference with the bat, and it was a really difficult decision to drop one of our key players.
“Now that we are full members, our priority will be on fitness, in international and domestic cricket,” he said. “We can’t carry unfit players. We understand Shahzad was not fully fit when he still went on to play two games and this is not acceptable anymore.”
However, Shahzad feels hurt by the ACB’s move and admits that he is contemplating whether he wants to play cricket anymore.
“I had a practice session, bowled, batted, and had a keeping session… had lunch with my team-mates, and then sat down in the team bus (to return to the hotel) only to see the ICC press release on my phone saying I am out of the World Cup,” he said. “That was the moment when I found out that I was unfit.
“I asked the manager, who asked me to put the phone in my pocket and talk to the doctor. The doctor looked at me helplessly and said he couldn’t do anything. I don’t know what is the problem. If they have a problem, they should let me know. If they don’t want me to play, I will quit cricket.
“I don’t see myself playing anymore. It’s a dream to play the World Cup. I was removed from the 2015 World Cup [he wasn’t selected for fitness reasons] and now this one as well. I am going to consult with friends and family. My heart isn’t in cricket anymore.”