Shehzad hurt after omission from T20 squad

Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad returned home from the national T20 championship after learning about his omission from the T20 squad for the one-off match against England.

Ahmed Shehzad (in picture) and Umar Akmal were not considered for selection in the England tour by Inzamam-ul-Haq owing to disciplinary concerns.

Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has decided to return home to Lahore from the ongoing national T20 championship after learning that he was not in the Pakistan squad announced for the one-off T20 match against England in Manchester on September 7.

According to his teammates, Shehzad, who was leading the Lahore Blues side in the national event in Rawalpindi was heartbroken at his omission. "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 teammate said. "He left soon after for his hometown Lahore after informing the team management that he was not feeling well," another source said.

Shehzad, 24, has been ignored alongside another experienced batsman 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 they still needed to work harder on their cricket discipline and attitude.

Umar Akmal recently met with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan and tendered an apology after which Khan said the selectors had been told they could consider Akmal for selection. While both were talented players, Inzamam said, 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 on their cricket discipline and behaviour and he had recommended not considering them for national selection until they showed improvement.

But with Pakistan suffering a series loss against England in the one-dayers, reliable sources told PTI the two could be back in the running for the T20 series against the West Indies from September 23 in the UAE.

"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.