"Favoritism, false promises, and injustice" - Ahmad Shahzad pulls out of domestic tournament, blames PCB
Batter Ahmad Shahzad announced he will not participate in Pakistan's Domestic Cricket Champions Cup this year due to PCB's "favoritism, false promises, and injustice" against domestic cricketers on Friday. He also criticized PCB's new mentorship scheme as a waste of money amid poverty in the country.
As part of the mentorship scheme, Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Sarfaraz Ahmed will work with one of the five sides each in the new domestic competitions on three-year contracts. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said it'll help bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.
"With a heavy heart, I've decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup," Shahzad wrote on X. "The PCB's favoritism, false promises, and injustice towards domestic players are unacceptable. In a time when Pakistan is struggling with inflation, poverty, and massive electricity bills, the PCB is wasting 5 million Rs on mentors for doing nothing and rewarding failed players in the current team who brought Pakistan cricket to an All-time Low."
With "all-time low", Shahzad is probably referring to Pakistan's recent 10-wicket defeat to Bangladesh at home in the first Test at Rawalpindi. The two teams were supposed to begin the second game on Friday but incessant rain curtailed that.
"I cannot support a system that has no value for merit" - Ahmad Shahzad
Shahzad also took objection to Naqvi's comments after the defeat to Bangladesh, when he said Pakistan has "no pool [of players] to turn to" to do a "surgery" on the squad. He said:
"It's even more disrespectful that the PCB claims they don't have 'instruments for surgery' which is a huge disrespect for domestic players. As a Pakistani and true cricket lover, I cannot support a system that has no value for merit. I refuse to be a part of this failed setup."
Shahzad played 153 internationals for Pakistan until poor form ruled him out from Tests and ODIs in 2017 and T20Is in 2019.