Ahmed Shehzad, a sidelined batter of the Pakistan cricket team, has opted out of the Champions Cup, the country’s 50-over domestic cricket tournament set to begin in Faisalabad on September 12. Shehzad shared his reasons for this decision, criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for “wasting” money on expensive mentors for the tournament. He accused the PCB of showing favoritism and making “false promises,” neglecting the needs of domestic players. “With a heavy heart, I’ve decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup,” Ahmed Shehzad wrote on X.
With a heavy heart, I've decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup. 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…
— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) August 30, 2024
PCB’s Favoritism Sparks Outrage
“The favoritism, false promises, and mistreatment of domestic players by the PCB are unacceptable. At a time when Pakistan faces inflation, poverty, and high electricity bills, the PCB is squandering 5 million Rs on mentors who do nothing and rewarding underperforming players in the current team, leading Pakistan cricket to its lowest point,” he added.
Recently, former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis was appointed as a mentor for one of the five Champions Cup teams, signing a three-year contract. The PCB confirmed earlier this week that Younis, along with Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Shoaib Malik, will serve as mentors in the Champions Cup.
These five mentors bring a wealth of experience, having played 1,621 international matches, scored 32,780 runs, and taken 1,503 wickets combined.
Sarfaraz and Shoaib have each won ICC events twice, Misbah has won an ICC event and captained the team to victory in the ACC Asia Cup 2012, while Saqlain and Waqar were part of the team that reached the 1999 World Cup final.
Ahmed Shehzad further expressed his frustration, saying, “It’s even more insulting that the PCB claims they lack ‘instruments for surgery,’ which is a huge insult to domestic players. As a Pakistani and a true cricket lover, I can’t support a system that ignores merit. I won’t be a part of this failed setup.”
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