Veteran Pakistan batter Ahmad Shahzad announced that he won’t participate in Pakistan’s Domestic Cricket Champions Cup this year due to PCB’s “favoritism, false promises, and injustice” against domestic cricketers on Friday as well. He also slammed PCB’s new mentorship scheme as a waste of money amid poverty in the country.

However, as part of the mentorship scheme, Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Sarfaraz Ahmed will work with one of the five teams each in the new domestic competitions on three-year contracts as well. Notably, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said that it’ll help bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket as well.

“With a heavy heart, I’ve decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup,” Shahzad wrote on X. “The PCB’s favoritism, false promises, and injustice towards domestic players are unacceptable. In a time when Pakistan is struggling with inflation, poverty, and massive electricity bills, the PCB is wasting 5 million Rs on mentors for doing nothing and rewarding failed players in the current team who brought Pakistan cricket to an All-time Low.”

With a heavy heart, I've decided not to play in the Domestic Cricket Champions Cup. The PCB's favoritism, false promises, and injustice towards domestic players are unacceptable. In a time when Pakistan is struggling with inflation, poverty, and massive electricity bills, the PCB…

— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) August 30, 2024

Notably, Shahzad is probably referring to Pakistan’s recent 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh at home in the first Test at Rawalpindi. The two teams were supposed to start the second game on Friday but rain curtailed that. And, Shahzad also objected to Naqvi’s comments after the defeat to Bangladesh, when he said Pakistan has “no pool [of players] to turn to” to do a “surgery” on the team as well.

He said: “It’s even more disrespectful that the PCB claims they don’t have ‘instruments for surgery’ which is a huge disrespect for domestic players. As a Pakistani and true cricket lover, I cannot support a system that has no value for merit. I refuse to be a part of this failed setup.”