Legendary Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad has launched a scathing attack on out-of-favor batsman Ahmed Shehzad after the latter claimed that he can still play for the next 12 years.
Shehzad, who is currently plying his trade with Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020, has recently stated that the last two years have been tough for him but he has learned from his past experiences and now hopes to represent Pakistan for more than a decade from now given his age, 28 and fitness.
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As per Cricket Pakistan, Shehzad quoted: “The past two years have been tough for me but I have learned a lot in that span of time and hopefully this will prove beneficial in my upcoming years in cricket.”
However, Shehzad’s words don’t really match to his performance as he is the worst-performing player of the PSL 2020 with paltry 61 runs in seven innings at an average of 8.7 – which would not really help the cricketer to receive a national call-up ahead of the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020.
Well, Miandad was really upset with “such irresponsible statements” from someone who has been repeatedly failing, as he criticized the right-hander for taking excessive pride in his fitness and skills while suggesting he let his bat do talking instead of giving the example of his unprofessionalism.
In a Youtube video, Miandad said: “You [Ahmed Shehzad] can play for 20 years rather than just 12. I guarantee you that but you need to perform. If you perform daily nobody will drop you from the side.”
He further added, “If other players are performing then they will be preferred over you with regards to playing for the national side. Players should not give such irresponsible statements and instead let their performance do the talking on the field.”
The legendary batsman further went on to explain the reason behind Pakistan’s downfall at the international level and that’s not to select a player on a series by series basis.
He signed off, “In other countries, players get selected on a series by series basis. But in Pakistan, you get to play 10 matches based on just one century. This is partly the reason why there are problems in our team. As a player, you should have good performance in eight out of 10 matches you play on average.”
Noteworthy, Shehzad has played 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 59 T20Is for Pakistan so far while his last ODI appearance came in October 2017 and in the longest format was back in May 2017. He last represented Pakistan in a T20I game against Sri Lanka in October 2019 at home.
(With Geo Super Inputs)
