At the tender age of seventeen, Ahmed Shehzad became a World Cup Winner, that too at the home of cricket.

by Saj Sadiq

16 November 2010

 

 At the tender age of seventeen, Ahmed Shehzad became a World Cup Winner, that too at the home of cricket.

A surprise selection in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup squad, Ahmed started the tournament as Salman Butt's opening partner. However a change of plan and approach from the Pakistani think tank meant that both Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad lost their opening places to Shahzaib Hasan and Kamran Akmal during the middle and later stages of that tournament.

Nearly eighteen months have passed since that memorable day at Lord's for Pakistan, and whilst Shehzad's career has not reached the dizzy heights that some forecasted for him, he is certainly confident that he can reclaim a berth in the Pakistan lineup.

Speaking to PakPassion.net ; Shehzad described the amazing experience that was the 2009 ICC World Twenty20.

"I went to England for the World Cup in a very confident frame of mind having scored 40 and 43 in two one day innings against Australia in Abu Dhabi. The Twenty20 World Cup warm-up matches against England and India went well for me, but I didn't do very well in my only match of the tournament and managed to only score 4. However, the experience of playing in such a high profile tournament was brilliant. I learnt so much just being part of the squad and practising and playing alongside some excellent players. I look back and feel that I was very fortunate to be a member of the World Cup winning squad."

Shehzad is currently the top run-scorer in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, having smashed 562 runs at an average of 187.33, including a highest score of 254 for Habib Bank Limited. Whilst Shehzad refuses to admit that he had to totally change his approach to batting, he did confess that there were certain aspects of his game that he had to address.

"I'm really pleased with how things are going so far this season. I'm feeling really confident and have been working hard on some areas of weakness in my batting. One aspect that I wanted to improve was the level of concentration at the crease. I spoke to my coaches about this issue and we've addressed it and after a few changes, things are going well so far."

Shehzad's aggressive style and shot-making prowess have made him one of the most eye catching and popular young batsmen in Pakistan. However he feels that the naturally aggression and array of shots have had to be curbed somewhat in order to make him a more complete batsman.

"My coaches at Habib Bank said to me that I have every shot in the book, but that in itself is the problem, I've simply had too many shots to choose from. I've been trying to play too many shots, sometimes more than one shot for each delivery and that has led to my downfall at times. The instructions that have been given to me are to cut down on trying to play too many shots. One other aspect of my batting that I am really focussing on is my patience. Sometimes it's really difficult to be patient at the crease, but if I want to improve as a batsman, then I need to focus more on shot selection and being patient at the crease."

Shehzad was one of the "senior members" of the Under 19 World Cup squad that was held in New Zealand earlier this year. However, Shehzad's form was not great as Pakistan reached the final, only to lose out to Australia. 

"The tournament in New Zealand wasn't very good for me with the bat. Overall the team did well. Guys like Raza Hasan and Usman Qadir performed really well, but on a personal note, the tournament could have gone a lot better for me. However it was another World Cup that I was part of and again an invaluable experience for me."

With the 50 over World Cup only a short time away, and with the PCB due to announce the names of the 30 man provisional squad, Shehzad feels that he could make it a hat trick of World Cup experiences next year, if given the opportunity by the selectors.

"I think I could play a major part in the World Cup next year. I'm in great form at the moment, I'm feeling very good and I'm performing well and I feel that an international return would be appropriate, as I feel the best time to pick a player is when he is in great form, so that the domestic form can be transferred to the international arena. The recently concluded Faysal Bank Twenty20 Competition was the perfect platform for me to show everyone that I have what it takes to perform at the highest level. The tournament was high profile, with great crowds and was televised and I was very pleased with my performances during that tournament. The Faysal Bank competition was the launchpad for me to regain my confidence and to continue that good form in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is really pleasing."