Ahmed Shehzad: “We understand that Imam is in the central contract [list] and we also used to say such things when we were young and contracted. I am [32] now and I am sick and tired of such statements”
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Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad launched a verbal attack against opener Imam-ul-Haq due to the latter’s comments about limited overs captain Babar Azam.
Imam noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wanted to bring Azam back as captain and ultimately did so when handing him the reins in ODIs and T20Is in March 2024.
However, Shehzad was less than impressed with the 28-year-old’s remarks, suggesting that he was only showing his support for Azam since he is a contracted player.
“Babar Azam was removed from [the] captaincy and then he was brought back. The board wanted him back. We played the final (T20 World Cup) in 2022, which means performances were there. Yes, we couldn’t win the final but that’s a separate debate,” Imam was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In response, Shehzad said: “We understand that Imam is in the central contract [list] and we also used to say such things when we were young and contracted. I am [32] now and I am sick and tired of such statements.”
Imam subsequently fired back, saying: “Yes, I am centrally contracted but I promise you that I will keep the same stance even when I am 36. If somebody has a problem then he should come out and say these things when he is 28 and contracted.”
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and amassed 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green started their campaign with back-to-back losses against the United States of America and India before rebounding with wins over Canada and Ireland.
Despite this, they failed to make it out of the group stage.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed