NEW DELHI: A 24-year-old cricketer from Sialkot has stunned the cricketing world after announcing his decision to step away from Pakistan cricket, citing politics, corruption and lack of structure in the domestic system.
Shahzaib Bhatti, born in Sialkot, had played a key role in Sialkot Region’s thrilling one-wicket win over Peshawar Region in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25 final, scoring an unbeaten 32 in a dramatic finish.
However, Bhatti said he had been repeatedly sidelined despite his performance and had been made to sit on the bench for nearly 40 matches. The youngster revealed that his dream was to represent Pakistan, but the realities of the domestic structure forced him to walk away from the game.
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Writing on X, Bhatti said” “Goodbye Pakistan cricket. Goodbye Pakistan cricket. At 24 years of age I am leaving Pakistan cricket. I won the Quaid E Azam final last year on live television. Since then I’ve been benched for almost 40 games in a row. My only dream is to represent Pakistan. But politics, corruption, lack of structure has ruined my career. And many others I now know why everyone is leaving Pakistan cricket. Goodbye”.
So far, Bhatti has played two first-class matches, one List A match and one T20 match in Pakistan’s domestic circuit. In red-ball cricket, he has five wickets to his name. In December 2024, he took five wickets for 236 runs against Lahore Whites.
In 2024, he made his List A debut for Eshaal in the Presidents Cup Grade 1 and picked up two wickets. He made his T20 debut against Rawalpindi, where he claimed one wicket while conceding 47 runs in four overs.