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Ahmed Shehzad Quits Pakistan Super League After Being Ignored For 2024 Season

image-lq6dkx9hAhmed Shehzad announces PSL retirement [X.com]

Discarded Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad on Friday (December 15) announced a shocking retirement from Pakistan Super League (PSL), stating he is done with facing continuous rejection from the league's franchises at the pre-season drafts and is calling it quits for his own respect. 

Shehzad, who last turned up in Pakistan's premier domestic T20 league back in the 2019 season for Quetta Gladiators, has not been picked by any of the six PSL franchises at the draft process since then in what the player feels is a collective conspiracy to deny him a chance. 

Frustrated and dispirited by the persistent snub, Shehzad underlined his efforts to make a comeback via performances in the National T20 Cup in Pakistan and said he has been made to realise it doesn't really matter what he does with the bat; he will be ignored for higher honours. 

Ahmed Shehzad Announces Shock PSL Retirement

"I have tried really hard by giving it all in domestic circuit consistently in last few years, and did reasonably well in the National T20 Cup just before the PSL draft," he wrote in his statement. 

"There seems a deliberate effort to keep me out, even when franchises have opted for other performers with inferior numbers than me. But when everything is pre-planned so it doesn't really matter."

Shehzad's frustration held weight since he made 344 runs over nine innings of the National T20 Cup for Lahore Whites, with a strike rate of 133.33 leading into the PSL 2024 draft held on December 13. However, the player's name was rejected by all six PSL franchises, with negligible openings in existing squads and other brighter young talents coming to the fore. 

The ousted cricketer, however, reckons it's a case of conspiracy against his presence in the T20 league and announced he won't be coming back to the PSL draft until those running the existing six franchises based in Peshawar, Multan, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Islamabad are part of the league's set-up. 

"I'm parting ways and saying goodbye to Pakistan Super League for my own self respect. I've never played for money and will never do it. While many chose international leagues across the globe, I decided to grind in the domestic circuit to prove my love for the game, and to wear the Green Flag again."

"I'm taking this decision keeping money out of it (was offered several contracts to play leagues yet chose Pakistan).I will not play the PSL again with these 6 teams. It seems like a shared responsibility to keep me away from PSL, and all franchises have shaken hands."

"Lastly, I'm thankful to all the support I've received from my fans across the world. I can only assure one thing and that's never giving in to unfair demands or accept anything which lets my country down," he added.