Shehzad vows to play 'better than before' once he makes comeback

Out of favour Pakistani batsman Ahmed Shehzad, who is desperate to make a comeback to the national team, has vowed to perform "better than before" on his return to international cricket.

Shehzad has insisted that he had a great run in the domestic season this year, and that was because of the help he had from former players that he looks up to.

"There are very few players that have had smooth careers, where they scored effortlessly in every match. Most of us struggle at one point or another, it is part of the game," he said, presenting a positive outlook on his exclusion from the national squad for nearly seven months," the Dawn quoted Shehzad as saying.

Citing the example of Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli, the right-handed batsman said that "great players" like the former, who have amazing form, go through bad patches; but because of the support of the people around them, they get over that phase.

"The point is to have a support system when you're down, all great players have that. But even when one does not, they should be their own support," he said.

"I was lucky that Wasim bhai and Inzamamam bhai guided me and told me to focus on staying positive through this patch. I have vowed to play better than before whenever I am brought back into the team," he added.

The 25-year-old, talking about his coping mechanism, said he leaned on his family while going through the rough patch.

"When I was going through a bad phase, my family, especially my wife and mother and they kept me on the right track," he said.

The Pakistan opener has not been a part of Test and ODI squad for over a year, while he played his last international T20 match in March 2016.

Often he has been criticised by the team management for having 'attitude problems'.