Speaking to PakPassion.net, 21 year old Shahzaib spoke of his disappointment at the Karachi Dolphins missing out on winning the recently concluded Faysal Bank Cup on home turf and his hopes for a successful domestic season resulting in an international recall.

By Saj Sadiq (October 10, 2011)

The 2009 Twenty20 World Cup saw two surprise selections in the Pakistan squad heading for England. One was a young teenage left arm pace bowler called Mohammad Amir and the other was a young Karachi opening batsman Shahzaib Hasan.

Both selections raised some eyebrows back in Pakistan at that time, but post World Cup the selectors could feel justified in picking both youngsters when Pakistan lifted the Trophy in front of a packed house at Lords.

Whilst Amir’s international career shone before it was abruptly ended due to now well documented reasons, Shahzaib’s fortunes have also somewhat nosedived and he is currently languishing at the tail end of the pecking order of opening batsmen trying to stake their claim for an international place. The hard hitting right hander has only managed to play in 3 one day internationals and 10 Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan since making his debut for Pakistan against New Zealand at the Oval in 2009.

Speaking to PakPassion.net, 21 year old Shahzaib spoke of his disappointment at the Karachi Dolphins missing out on winning the recently concluded Faysal Bank Cup on home turf and his hopes for a successful domestic season resulting in an international recall.

“Twenty20 cricket is huge in Pakistan, as it is around the world and the Faysal Bank Cup was a great tournament to be part of. There were great crowds and a great atmosphere at the National Stadium whenever we played and the expectations were huge for the Karachi Dolphins to lift the trophy on home soil.”

“It was difficult to accept that we never got out the group stage this time around, as all the Karachi residents expected us to do so well. We as a team were very disappointed with our performance in the tournament, as after such a long time the tournament was being held in Karachi and we were desperate to do well and please the locals. We had a strong team and should have won, but cricket is one of those games where sometimes your luck is just not there on that particular day.”

Shahzaib was honest in his assessment of the surprise defeat to Peshawar in the Faysal Bank Cup that ultimately ended the Karachi Dolphins interest in the tournament and felt that the better team on the day quite rightly went through to the semi finals.

“The day belonged to the Peshawar cricket team. They were better in all facets of the game and that is why they beat us quite comfortably in the end. We were simply outplayed and Peshawar batted, bowled and fielded better than us and deserved their victory.

Shahzaib, whose last appearance in Pakistani colours was in Dubai last year where in a one day international against South Africa he scored 39 off 42 deliveries, added “I will never give up in the hope of playing for Pakistan again and the ongoing Quaid E Azam Trophy presents me with a very good opportunity to show everyone that I can perform well. My intention is to impress the selectors by the sheer volume of runs. I want to claim the opening slot back and I am hopeful that I will have a good domestic season this time around. The Quaid E Azam Trophy is the premier tournament in Pakistan and the selectors obviously take a keen interest in the best performers in this tournament and I hope to be one of the batsmen at the top of the scoring charts.”

Whilst still relatively inexperienced in international cricket Shahzaib stated that the 13 matches that he had played for Pakistan so far had been a wonderful and enjoyable experience and that international cricket had been an excellent education for him and really aided his development as a cricketer.

“The jump from domestic cricket in Pakistan to international cricket is huge. It was a real eye opener for me especially given that I had played so little domestic cricket before being chosen for my country. Playing in overseas conditions, against the world’s best bowlers in high pressure situations, I learnt so much from the experience. The preparation, the intensity and the skill levels are all things that really come to the fore.”

“So many good things came out of playing for Pakistan and the whole experience was so enjoyable and great for my development, but my hunger to play for Pakistan is even greater now having experienced international cricket and I am really keen to get my place back in the Pakistan side.”

Shahzaib’s Quaid E Azam Trophy tournament did not get off to the best of starts as his Karachi Blues team lost to State Bank of Pakistan by an innings and 11 runs, with Shahzaib scoring 25 and 35 respectively.