Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has already named the team bound for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and World T20 in India but dropped a huge hint that Sharjeel could receive a call-up at the end of his Peshawar side’s defeat at the hands of Sharjeel and Islamabad United.
Earlier this week Afridi said that there is still time for players to make a late impression.
Sharjeel did just that in stunning fashion on Sunday night, blitzing his way to 117 from 62 balls as Islamabad United made light work of Peshawar Zalmi in a 50-run win.
And Afridi, captaining Peshawar, was given a front row seat for the Sharjeel show.
The left-hander bludgeoned Afridi straight back over his head for six to reach his hundred, spurring the bowler to rush down the wicket and congratulate the man from Hyderabad.
Afridi also made a point of shaking Sharjeel’s hand as he walked off after being dismissed, saying he “will be rewarded soon for that innings” in his post match interview.
“If there’s any gift [from Afridi], everyone will get to know about it soon. Now I’m focused to perform in the final,” said Sharjeel.
“I had a lot of pressure on me but I was very focused and I took this pressure positively.
“It’s good for us and it’s good for me, this innings was very good. I really appreciate my team and my management, they give me confidence.
“I have not performed the last two or three matches but today they gave me a lot of confidence and that’s what allowed me the success.”
Defeated Peshawar head coach Mohammad Akram was in awe of Sharjeel’s innings that ultimately ended his team’s PSL campaign.
“It was a very, very special innings. If you see something like that on any given day you will be blown away,” said Akram.
“We knew Sharjeel is capable of doing that and today against the best bowling attack in this competition, they way he played was really remarkable.”
