Ahmed Shehzad: “This was a pre-planned approach and they wanted to kill two birds with one stone. I will not say their names but I will not make this public. It started from within the team”
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Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has claimed that he was targeted by members within the national team as they plotted to oust him from the team.
He pointed out that they planned to do this by associating him with fellow batsman Umar Akmal, who has been the centre of many controversies over the years.
However, Shehzad stopped short of naming the players who were involved in this alleged plan to remove him from the side.
“This was a pre-planned approach and they wanted to kill two birds with one stone. I will not say their names but I will not make this public. It started from within the team,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
“I requested the media to not pay any importance to such controversies but everyone wanted to enjoy these controversies and that is alright because I am not bothered by it anymore.”
The 30-year-old has been active on the domestic circuit in Pakistan as he recently featured in the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), where he amassed 164 runs in five matches for the Rawalakot Hawks, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 41 and a strike-rate of 132.25.
The top order batsman isn’t part of Pakistan’s squad for the ongoing Asia Cup as he last played international cricket in October 2019.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir