KARACHI: Ahmed Shehzad broke down and decided to return home to Lahore from the ongoing National T20 Cup after learning that he was not in the Pakistan squad announced for the lone T20 match against England in Manchester on Sept 7.

According to his team-mates, Shehzad who was leading the Lahore Blues side in the national event’s first leg in Rawalpindi was heartbroken after learning he was not included for the international match.

“He came to know about the situation after the match and he broke down and sat in a corner and one could see he was in tears,” one team-mate said.

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“He left soon after for his hometown Lahore after informing the team management that he was not feeling well,” another source said.

Shehzad, 24, who has played 11 Tests, 77 ODIs and 44 T20 matches for Pakistan, has been ignored alongside Umar Akmal by the national selectors for the entire England tour.

The two were also not called up for the training camp set up in Kakul prior to the tour and chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq made it clear they were dropped on disciplinary grounds based on reports from the team management.

Inzamam on Friday also made it clear that the two were still not in the running for a recall as the feeling was that they still needed to work harder on their cricket discipline and attitude.

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Umar Akmal recently met with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Shaharyar Khan and tendered an apology after which Shaharyar said the selectors had been told they could consider Akmal for selection.

Inzamam said that while both were talented players but talent was not enough and they needed to do more to regain confidence of the board, selectors and management.

The two were criticised by former head coach, Waqar Younis in his reports for their cricket discipline and behaviour and he had recommended not considering them for national selection until they showed improvement in their behaviour.

But with Pakistan suffering defeat after defeat in England in the one-day series, reliable sources saidthe two could be back in the running for the T20 series against the West Indies from Sept 23 in the UAE.

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“Inzamam has recently had a long discussion with both of them and he and head coach, Mickey Arthur will decide on the future of these two players after the series in England,” one source disclosed.

Arthur has made it clear he has not had a chance to meet and interact with Shehzad and Akmal but there would be no compromise on discipline.

Published in Dawn September 4th, 2016