Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan found himself at the centre of online ridicule after a strange choice in a this-or-that questionnaire sparked disbelief across the cricketing world.Farhan stunned fans by picking former Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad over icons like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. The selection quickly went viral, largely because Shehzad’s international career, while promising, never reached the heights of the legends he was chosen over. Shehzad represented Pakistan in 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 59 T20Is, scoring 5,058 runs, but struggled to cement his place consistently.Explaining his reasoning, Farhan said, “Ahmed Shehzad is someone I used to follow. I was his fan and started my cricket after watching him.”
The explanation did little to calm the storm. Former Pakistan cricketers Basit Ali and Kamran Akmal reacted with disbelief as the clip circulated widely on social media.“This is fake. Hundred per cent fake. Sahibzada Farhan has not gone mad so far that he picks Ahmed Shehzad over Sachin Tendulkar. I plead with you to stop this topic,” Basit Ali said on the YouTube show The Game Plan, folding his hands in exasperation.He went further, adding, “I promise you all, whenever I meet Sahibzada, I will ask him, ‘Were you in your senses that day?’ Whoever asks you a question regarding Sahibzada’s pick, tell him that Basit Ali and Kamran Akmal apologise for it.”Kamran Akmal, who struggled to contain his laughter during the discussion, eventually joined in the apology. “We ask for forgiveness for Sahibzada’s mistake,” he said.The surprise was heightened by the list of players Farhan overlooked. Alongside Tendulkar and Sehwag, names such as Rohit Sharma and Saeed Anwar were also ignored in favour of Shehzad.
