QUETTA: Former Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad is still hopeful of making a comeback to the national team.

Speaking at a news conference here on Sunday, where he announced plans of establishing a cricket academy in Quetta, Ahmed said there were no excuses for Pakistan’s poor performance in their Test series whitewash against Australia.

“It is very unfortunate; once again we lost to Australia,” the 32-year-old, who played his last Test in 2017, told reporters.

“The senior players should have shown their performance. There is no excuse for defeat. The mistakes must be eliminated as soon as possible. I will make a comeback in the national team soon.”

Ahmed last featured in a One-day International for Pakistan back in October 2017 while his last T20 International appearance came in October 2019.

Since then, there has been no way back for him in the national team set up and he also went unpicked during the recent draft for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League.

Ahmed, who was part of the Quetta Gladiators side which won the PSL in 2019, said he hoped his academy would help nurture the talent in the province which could one day represent Pakistan at the international stage.

“There is no dearth of talented cricketers in Balochistan ... all they need is encouragement, training and opportunities,” said Ahmed, sitting alongside Balochistan Minister for Information Jan Achakzai.

“When Quetta Gladiators won the PSL, the people of Quetta gave us a lot of love and I was determined to do whatever I could in life for the youth of Quetta.”

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2024