Afghanistan wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad is overweight. There is no other way to say it. The 30-year-old has said in various interviews that he simply can’t give up food or sleep.
Fitness for Shahzad is a tricky topic. When the keeper, who weighs in at 90kg, was asked in May this year if he could go on a fitness diet and regime like India skipper Virat Kohli, the gloveman simply asked: “Why diet like Kohli when you can hit longer sixes than him?”
If sounds funny and is. But Shahzad backs up his statements with performances. Gym fitness and match fitness are two very different things and there can’t be a bigger example of it, sorry for the pun, than Shahzad.
Shahzad has been keeping wickets and opening the batting non-stop since August. His workload has intensified since the Asia Cup as he had to do it in the searing 40 plus degree heat in the UAE.
In the Asia Cup, he batted first in the afternoon in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in four out of the five matches. And he kept wickets for over 40 overs in all matches. His lowest score in the Asia Cup was 20 and he was at his best towards the end. He hit a fifty as Afghanistan lost their crucial Super Four match against Bangladesh by three runs and fell out of contention for a spot in the final.
In the last match of their campaign against India, Shahzad hit a breathtaking 124 from 116 balls that set the stage for a thrilling tie.
And just days after the end of their Asia Cup campaign, Shahzad was back on the field in the UAE. He is captain of the Paktia Panthers side competing in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League T20 tournament in Sharjah.
Batting first on Friday, Shahzad hit 67 from 39 balls against to help his team score 218-4.
Shahzad lives life to the fullest and plays cricket with total commitment. There is nothing half-hearted in anything Shahzad does and that makes up for the lack of fitness in the traditional sense.
India wicketkeeper MS Dhoni and Pakistan skipper and gloveman Sarfraz Ahmed are far superior athletes. They probably have better cricketing brains as well. Shahzad has back issues as doing hundreds of squats while keeping and opening the batting while carrying his weight is bound to put a strain on his body.
But he has natural talent and a decent work regime that allows him to score runs and take catches behind the stumps. What Dhoni and Sarfraz would give to be able to bat like Shahzad at this moment.
