Cricketer Ahmad Shahzad has announced his separation from the Pakistan Super League (PSL), citing dissatisfaction with the drafting process for the ninth edition, which he believes was pre-planned due to his exclusion from all six franchises.
The PSL draft ceremony for the 2024 season took place at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, where the Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars, and Islamabad United selected players. Notably, Ahmad Shahzad was not picked by any franchise.
Expressing his disappointment, Ahmad Shahzad took to his social media handle to share his thoughts with his followers. He mentioned that despite consistent performances in the domestic circuit over the past few years and a commendable showing in the National T20 Cup just before the PSL draft, he was deliberately neglected. Shahzad suggested that there appeared to be a deliberate effort to keep him out, even when other players with inferior statistics were chosen by franchises.
In a statement, Shahzad expressed, “When everything is pre-planned, it doesn’t matter.” He claimed to know exactly why he was excluded from PSL 9 and hinted that his friends and fans would soon be informed of the reasons.
Disheartened by the situation, Ahmad Shahzad declared his decision to part ways from PSL, stating, “I will not play the PSL with these 6 teams; it seems like a shared responsibility to keep me away from PSL, and all franchises have shaken hands.”
Shan Masood Takes The Helm As Captain For Karachi Kings In PSL 9
In another development, the Karachi Kings, a team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), announced that Shan Masood, Pakistan’s Test team captain, would be leading the team in the upcoming ninth edition of the tournament. The Kings made this announcement on their official Twitter account, welcoming Shan Masood as the new captain.
In addition to the captaincy announcement, the Karachi Kings also revealed that they selected New Zealand batter Tim Seifert in the Diamond category for the upcoming PSL season. In the previous edition, the team was led by Imad Wasim, who has since joined Islamabad United.
Meanwhile, the Quetta Gladiators retained Sarfaraz Ahmed as their team captain for the ninth edition. The Gladiators also made significant picks in the draft, selecting Sherfane Rutherford in the Platinum category and acquiring pace bowler Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz.
