Out of favour Pakistan cricket team batter Ahmed Shahzad made a shocking claim that he has faced a number of issues during his career because of his “good looks”. Shahzad was part of the Pakistan side that won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and Champions Trophy in 2017. However, the batter last played for the national side in 2019. During a recent interview, Shahzad claimed that he was targeted during his career for being good-looking. He went on to say that when a player is good looking and has a ‘good dressing sense’, that person becomes a target in Pakistan cricket.
“Being good-looking has caused me a lot of problems. In our field, if you look good, know how to dress, and speak well, some people start to resent you,” he said.
“I’ve been a target within the Pakistani team for this. I’m not defending myself here, but there are others who have also faced this. If your fan following grows and people appreciate you, it’s hard for some senior players to accept.”
“We come from small areas. I lived in Anarkali, Lahore, and when I gained recognition, I worked on grooming myself and improving my personality. But this has also caused significant problems within Pakistan,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has urged his team to focus on playing an attacking brand of cricket in next month’s ICC Champions Trophy.
Pakistan are hosting their first ICC event after a gap of 28 years, the last being the 1996 World Cup. However, the eight-team competition will only see seven teams including Pakistan playing in the country as India to play all their matches in Dubai.
Pakistan will enter the marquee tournament as defending champions having defeated India in the 2017 edition’s final. Latif feels that the home side should focus on their preparations and not think about India not travelling to Pakistan for the tournament.
“These are exciting times for a cricket-crazy nation. The world’s top teams will be participating in this mega event,” Rashid told Pakistan English Daily Dawn.
“I commend the efforts of the Pakistan government and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their relentless lobbying with the International Cricket Council (ICC), ensuring that Pakistan gets the opportunity to host this tournament. India will play their matches in the UAE, and that is their business; Pakistan should focus solely on playing attacking cricket,” he added.
(With IANS inputs)
