Opening batter Ahmad Shahzad quit the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Friday after not being picked during the draft for season nine of the event.
The right-hander was also disappointed with the PSL franchises for not picking him once again.
“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),” Shahzad posted on X.
“I will not play the PSL again with these six 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.”
Shahzad also highlighted his performance in domestic cricket while accusing PSL franchises of deliberately keeping him out of the country’s premier T20 event.
“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. 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. I don't know whose responsibility it is to get top domestic performers in the PSL then,” he added.
“But I exactly know the reasons why I'm not made part of the PSL - the whole country, and my fans will know it very soon.”
Shahzad played for Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans during the PSL in the past. His last appearance in PSL was for Quetta in 2020, when he only scored 61 runs in seven innings.
Overall, Shahzad scored 1,077 runs in 43 PSL innings at an average of 26.26 and strike-rate of 120.06.
