KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain and legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi claimed that his support for the opening batter Ahmed Shehzad as the captain turned out to be of the reasons for the latter’s ousting from the national team.
Ahmed, who last played for the Green Shirts in 2019 and has been openly criticizing the then management for his ‘spoiling and hurting’ his career, appeared on a local television channel Samaa on Tuesday.
Former Pakistan captain Afridi, who was a part of the expert panel amid Ahmed’s interview, made a major assertion about the latter’s exclusion from the team, who played under the former’s captaincy for the majority of his career.
“Ahmed was targeted because of me because I supported him a lot. I gave him a lot of chances, which turned out to be a negative thing for him when I left captaincy. I think people thought he was my favourite,” Afridi said.
“I supported him a lot because I wasn’t finding an opener of his ability in Pakistan. He was performing as well. Obviously, he couldn’t perform in all games but he was targeted because of me as well,” he added.
Shehzad, on the other hand, expressed disbelief over Afridi’s remarks. “Shahid bhai, listen. I don’t know why you said that. You’ve been an elder brother to me, you can say anything to me. Sometimes, it does hurt me, but you have always been an elder brother to me,” the right-handed opener batter stated.
Afridi then interrupted Ahmed by saying that he wants the latter to score runs, to which the Test opener lamented the lack of platforms for doing so.
“I want you to score runs, enjoy your life with your wife and kids. Allah has made life beautiful for you,” Afridi said.
“I keep saying that. I want to score runs, but at least don’t deny me the platforms where I can score. I will ask you when sides in PSL want to pick me, who comes in and says no? You tell me, where do I score runs? At my home?” Ahmed replied.
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