Karachi Kings all-rounder Khushdil Shah broke his silence on his omission from the Pakistan squad after a match-winning knock against Lahore Qalandars in PSL 11, saying that he handles things differently from other players in the national team.
“Among all the players in Pakistan, I am different from everyone. I’m not on social media. I don’t post Quranic verses on social media like other players of the team claiming I was treated unfairly,” he said on the post-match show Pitch Side.
The 31-year-old, who last represented Pakistan in 2025, also pointed to his recent domestic performances as evidence that his omission makes little cricketing sense.
“Recently, in domestic cricket, batting at number 5 or 6, I scored 700-800 runs and even made a double century, yet I’m still dropped from the team,” he said.
Khushdil had earlier smashed an unbeaten 44 off just 14 balls, hitting five sixes and two fours to help the Kings chase down 200 inside 18 overs against arch-rivals Qalandars. He came to the crease when Kings needed 55 from 28 balls with five wickets in hand, smoked Shaheen Afridi for 23 in a single over, and sealed the game with back-to-back sixes against Haris Rauf, keeping his side’s playoff hopes alive.
He forged an unbeaten 57-run partnership with skipper David Warner, doing the bulk of the scoring, and credited him for keeping him focused during the chase.
“Warner said that we had to fight until the last ball. He gave me a lot of confidence and told me to take the match till the end and not play any rash shot,” Khushdil revealed.
On taking on the pace duo of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, he said his plan was straightforward. “My simple plan was to stay deep in the crease and play,” he said. “My aim was to help the team win at least one match.”
