Knock! Knock! It’s me Sharjeel Khan
dubai — Imagine being proved wrong once and then again. The Pakistan selectors went through that for a second instance on Sunday night.
Sharjeel Khan was deemed not good enough to be in Pakistan’s T20 squad for the Asia Cup as well as the World T20 to be held in India next month.
The 26-year-old limited-overs specialist had nonchalantly responded to that by clubbing an unbeaten 79 in Islamabad United’s eight-wicket triumph over the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Sharjah.
And a little over 10 days after that knock, the southpaw reminded the men who matter that they perhaps erred in not picking him.
Quite fittingly, the man from Hyderabad, Sind province couldn’t have chosen an even better stage than this to do it.
Up against the popular Shahid Afridi-led Peshawar Zalmi in the third qualifying play-off, opener Sharjeel strode majestically into the record books by firing the first ever century of the PSL.
Sharjeel displayed oodles of composure and his talent in ample measure to construct a blistering 117 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. They say when one is in the zone, there is no stopping them and Sharjeel was in the midst of one.
As he reached the milestone, he was congratulated by Afridi and there couldn’t have nothing better than the Pakistan T20 captain’s approval.
Going by the knock, Sharjeel may well have opened the door again and could be a shoe-in for the Asia Cup as well as the World T20.
Afridi had hinted as much after the match that a reward awaits Sharjeel. Numerous reports emerging from Pakistan have said that the left-hander as well as teammate Mohammad Sami have been called-up for the Asia Cup and the World T20.
“If there’s any gift, everyone will get to know about it soon,” said Sharjeel.
“It is a great feeling. Wherever I play be it Pakistan ‘A,’ or domestic cricket, my focus is to perform well. Some of the coaches I’ve worked with, they said that if you are out of the team or if you want to play for Pakistan, the more centuries you make, the sooner you will be back in the team,” he added.
Sharjeel also revealed that the familiar environs had helped him during the PSL. The southpaw has been a regular in UAE’s domestic, featuring for Phoenix Medicine, during Pakistan’s off-season over the past five years.
“Having played here in the UAE has definitely helped me a lot. Apart from international matches, I have been playing a lot of cricket in the UAE for over the past five years. And most of these matches are at international venues so you could say that I’m used to these conditions because I come and play here during the off-season,” Sharjeel said.