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Ahmad Shahzad made his international debut for Pakistan in April 2009, and since then he has played 13 Tests, 81 ODIs, and 59 T20Is for Men in Green.
Ahmed Shahzad makes shocking claim. (Picture Credit: X/@iamAhmadshahzad)
Out of favour Pakistani batter Ahmad Shahzad has made a shocking claim by stating that he has faced a lot of problems in his cricket career due to his good looks. Shahzad, who was a member of the Pakistani team that won the T20 World Cup title in 2009 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, last played for the Men in Green in October 2019. Despite being only 33 years old, Shahzad hasn’t played for Pakistan in the last six years, and he is unlikely to play in the near future as well.
The right-handed batter, who has scored more than 5000 runs in 150 international matches for Pakistan, during his recent appearance in a podcast said that senior players in the Pakistani team targeted him for being good-looking.
According to him, in Pakistan cricket, when a player is good-looking and has a good dressing sense, he becomes a target of the senior cricketers.
“Being good-looking has caused me a lot of problems. In our field, if you look good, know how to dress, and speak well, some people start to resent you,” he said.
“I’ve been a target within the Pakistani team for this. I’m not defending myself here, but there are others who have also faced this. If your fan following grows and people appreciate you, it’s hard for some senior players to accept.”
“We come from small areas. I lived in Anarkali, Lahore, and when I gained recognition, I worked on grooming myself and improving my personality. But this has also caused significant problems within Pakistan,” he added.
Ahmad made his international debut for Pakistan as a 17-year-old in April 2009 against Australia during an ODI match played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. He opened the innings for the Younis Khan-led side but could only manage to score four runs. His first T20I appearance for Pakistan was against Australia in Dubai on May 7, 2009, and in that match as well, Shahzad scored 4 runs.
The right-handed batter created history for Pakistan on March 30, 2014, during the T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh and became the first Men in Green batter to score a century in T20Is. He faced 62 balls in that match and, with the help of 10 fours and 5 sixes, remained unbeaten on 11 runs.
