Pakistan cricketer Mukhtar Ahmed wishes to play more for country

Pakistan cricketer Mukhtar Ahmed, who has proved himself in the shortest format of cricket by producing an incredible strike rate 178.36 in the ongoing National T20 Cup, feels disappointed that he is yet to find a permanent place in the Pakistan team.

Mukhtar made his international T20I debut for the country in 2015 against Bangladesh. But despite coming good in his debut innings, the player could not find a permanent place in the Pakistan team.

He has unfortunately played only six T20Is for the country yet.

"People forget that I actually average 32 for Pakistan in the six T20Is that I played in. I also scored two fifties for my country and was then dropped. However, these things happen, and you have to take it on the chin and work hard," he said.

However, Sialkot born Mukhtar Ahmed has scored 305 runs in seven matches at an average of 43.57 and at an incredible strike rate of 178.36 for his team FATA in the ongoing National T20 Cup.

"It's not easy to score a century in the T20 format and I was really pleased with my 117 against Karachi Whites. I've been hitting the ball cleanly during this tournament and when you do that it gives you confidence and a lot of self-belief," PakPassion quoted Mukhtar, as saying.

The 24-year-old believes that he can be a match-winner on a good day but still needs to add more consistency to his game.

"I feel that I have missed too much cricket of late for various reasons, but I want to put all that behind me and play regularly in all formats. I am only 24 but I've been around in domestic cricket for over five years, so I have a lot of experience. It's now time for me to settle down and prove my critics wrong and show maturity," said Mukhtar, who is currently ranked the third highest run-scorer at the National T20 Cup.

Though Mukhtar has played a lot of domestic cricket in his career but is yet to play for any of the franchises in the PSL and.

"It's very disappointing and surprising that I've not played a single match in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), as that is the format that I am well known in. I hoped that this time I would be picked in the League and be given a chance to show what I can do on the big stage, but sadly that did not happen."

But, he still has chances to be picked as the 21st player for one of the squads due to a recent modification in draft rules which have allowed for a vacancy of one more player in PSL team line-ups.

In addition to PSL, Mukhtar also wishes to play more games for his country and for that he believes that he will continually perform best in the domestic cricket to once again catch the eye of the national selectors. 

-ANI