Pakistani cricketer Sharjeel Khan on Tuesday said that he was enchanted with the way he was welcomed by his national teammates after being recalled to the squad following a lengthy ban for spot-fixing.
Sharjeel Khan was banned in the year 2017 after he was found guilty in the match-fixing scandal during Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017. The 31-years old was sentenced to five years ban but later half of the sentence was suspended.
However, Sharjeel Khan was named in the Pakistan squad for the four-match T20I series against South Africa and the three-match T20I series Zimbabwe, starting next month.
Sharjeel on account of his brilliant performance in the PSL 2021, which got suspended last month because of a coronavirus outbreak, earned a call for the T20I squad.
The southpaw managed to score 200 runs in 5 games to go with a century and was also the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament.
Addressing his comeback in the national side, Sharjeel Khan said that he was nicely welcomed by his teammates and there’s wasn’t any difficulty for him to adjust to the team atmosphere. He added that now he is back in the national colors his sole focus is only on cricket
"It was a good welcome and the atmosphere was very good. I have played with all these players in the past and in recent domestic matches, so there was no difficulty in adjusting. Now I am back in the squad my focus is only on cricket. All the talk of the past is now past." Sharjeel Khan said.
Apart from his selection in the Pakistan national side, some questions have been raised about Sharjeel Khan’s fitness.
Talking about the same Sharjeel said that he will achieve the goals given to him by the Pakistan team trainer and will do fitness work on the tour and get ready.
"I have played 55-60 days of domestic cricket and I will achieve the goals given to me by the Pakistan team trainer. I want to play my natural game on the tour. I am selected for Twenty20 internationals only, so I will do fitness work on the tour and get ready,” he said.
Before his ban, the left-handed batsman had played one Test, 25 ODIs, and 15 T20I matches for Pakistan. The Babar Azam-led squad will fly to South Africa on Saturday 27th March.
(AFP inputs)
