Pakistani Cricket Players Biography Wallpapres : Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

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Ahmed Shehzad borned on November 23, 1991, is Pakistan’s rising star. Since his international debut in 2009, Shehzad has become one of the most exciting prospects in international cricket and is the only Pakistan batsman to have a century in each format of international cricket.

1. First-Class debut at age 15: Shehzad’s talent was recognised at a very young age. In 2007, he made his First-Class debut for Lahore Shalimar at the age of 15. In the game against Karachi Harbour, he scored four and 42. Salman Butt was the Lahore captain in that game.

2. Captaining Pakistan u-19 at age 15: In 2006, Shehzad became one of the youngest players to feature in the under-19 circuit when he represented Pakistan at the age of 14. In 2007, he led the Pakistan under-19 on their tour to Australia. He was only 15 then and was amongst the youngest players in the camp. That team also featured Junaid Khan, Mohammad Aamer, Shan Masood and Umar Amin. Phil Hughes, was Shehzad’s counterpart in that series.

3. Fined for allegedly going to a nightclub: When Shehzad was on tour with Pakistan under-19 to Kenya in 2008, he was fined for allegedly going to a nightclub in Nairobi, which broke the team’s curfew rule. Shehzad, then aged 16, maintained that he had gone for dinner with teammate Anwar Ali, but the team management fined him USD 400 and also imposed a ban of two matches.

4. Saeed Anwar an inspiration: In an interview with Geo News, Shehzad said that former Pakistan opener, Saeed Anwar is his inspiration. He said, “I grew up watching Saeed bhai. He used to flick any bowler towards the leg-side.”

5. Two under-19 World Cups: Shehzad is amongst the few players who have played two ICC under-19 World Cups. He was a part of the side led by Imad Wasim in 2008 and then played in 2010, when Pakistan reached the final.

6. Unexpected Test call-up in 2009: In 2009, Shehzad was unexpectedly called up to the Pakistan Test side to play Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series at home. In the lead-up to the series, Pakistan had announced a 22-man probable squad, which did not feature Shehzad. However, his innings of 146 not out for the Pakistan Cricket Board Patron’s XI against Sri Lanka won him a spot in the Test squad. He was only 17 then. Later that year, he made his One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International debut for Pakistan.

7. The leg-spinner: Shehzad has rarely bowled in international cricket or in T20 leagues. However, at the under-19 level, he was quite a handy leg-spinner. He picked 29 wickets for Pakistan under-19s in ODIs. In 2007, he took a six-wicket haul for Lahore North Zone Blues Under-19s. In fact, in his occasional bowling spurts, he has accounted for wickets of batsmen such as Thilan Samaraweera, Mohammad Hafeez (twice) and Shoaib Malik.

8. All major tournaments by the age of 19: In 2011, Shehzad featured in Pakistan’s squad for the ICC World Cup in the sub-continent. This meant that he had played all the major world tournaments by the age of 19. He had featured in two ICC under-19 World Cups (2008 and 2010) and also played during Pakistan’s victorious campaign at the ICC World T20 2009.

9. Opening the batting with Chris Gayle: Shehzad had opened the batting with the destructive Chris Gayle for two franchises. In 2012, they were the openers for the Barisal Burners in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). A year later, Shehzad was Gayle’s partner for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). During a game against Sylhet Royals in 2012, Shehzad and Gayle put up an unbeaten opening stand of 167 to overhaul the opposition’s score. Gayle smashed 101, whereas Shehzad finished with 56.

10. Youngest batsman with international tons in all formats and the only Pakistani to do so: Shehzad smashed 111 not out during an ICC World T20 2014 match against Bangladesh in Dhaka. With that ton, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score centuries in each format of international cricket. His first ODI ton had come against New Zealand in 2011 and he then smashed his maiden Test century against Sri Lanka in 2014. Off all the batsmen to have tons in each format, Shehzad is the youngest to have done it — at the age of 22.

11. Verbal fighter!: Shehzad doesn’t back away from speaking his mind! After smashing a ton against Bangladesh in the World T20, he dedicated the century to all his critics, who had “said things about him.” As luck would have it, he was dismissed first ball in the next game. In 2014, he also came under fire for allegedly passing a religious remark to Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan. The accepted version of his statement seems to be: “If you are a non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in your life, straight to Heaven.”