Fresh controversy in Pakistan cricket: Ahmed Shehzad withdraws from Champions Cup due to PCB ‘favoritism’

Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board. The 32-year old said he would not play in the Cricket Champions Cup and accused the board of “favouritism, false promises, and injustice.”

“With a heavy heart, I’ve decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup. The PCB’s favouritism, false promises, and injustice towards domestic players are unacceptable,” Shehzad posted on X.

The Champions Events is a new competition in Pakistan’s domestic calendar introduced for “bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket” it is set to begin on September 12 and would conclude on September 29. The tournament includes a 50-over format, T20 format and Test format.

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“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,” Shehzad said.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, and Waqar Younis will mentor five teams-five teams-Dolphins, Lions, Panthers, Stallions, and Wolves in the competition.

“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,” he added.

This is not the first time Shehzad has made a scathing into the Pakistan cricket in recent times. Earlier after Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 co-hosted in West Indies and the United States.

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The 32-year-old blamed the groupings and players for putting personal milestones ahead of country’s interests for Pakistan’s debacle in ongoing the T20 World Cup and demanded for the sacking of demands that Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf.

Ahmed Shehzad played in 13 Tests scoring 982 runs at an average of 40.92, 81 One-Day Internationals scoring 2605 runs at an average of 32.56 and 59 T20I’s scoring 1471 runs at an average of 25.81.

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