‘Still can’t believe he chose cricket over engineering’ – Shahbaz Ahmed’s father unhappy with his son despite his international debut
Shahbaz Ahmed (Source: Twitter)
The 27-year-old Shahbaz Ahmed’s dream of playing for India finally came true on Sunday as he made his international debut in the third ODI against South Africa. The left-arm spinner also managed to pick his first international wicket after he trapped Janneman Malan in front of the stumps. He finished with figures of 1/54 after 10 overs.
However, Ahmed’s laurels have failed to impress his father Ahmed Jan, who still can’t believe that his son chose to play cricket over engineering. In an interview given to Indian Express, his father revealed that Ahmed was good at studies but never made the most of it.
“Like any middle-class family, we do love watching cricket, in fact, I have played till college, but education has always been our priority. My father, Mohammad Ishak was a headmaster, I am a government employee, my younger brother is a teacher, and my daughter is a doctor,” Ahmed Jan was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“Even Shahbaz was a brilliant student, he got 80% in Class X, and 88% in XII. Never in my wildest dream did I ever think that he would quit his studies to play cricket. No father would want his son to play cricket at the cost of education,” he added.
He was determined to do something big: Abnam
Ahmed’s mother Abnam recalled the day when they received a letter from Shahbaz’s college that he had been missing classes for months. The worried parents visited him in Gurgaon, but he was not there, as he had gone off to play cricket. They went to the college and then got to know that he was bunking classes.
“It was the first time we came to know that he loves playing cricket. In fact, he had even attended Haryana U-19 camp for the past two years,” recalls Ahmed.
Then came the moment which shook both Ahmed and Abnam as Shahbaz told them that he wanted to move to Kolkata to pursue his cricketing dreams and he would have to drop out of college.
“He was determined to do something big. Even his college professors told him that it was a mistake because he was a good student. Shahbaz told his head of department that ‘one day you will give me my degree and also felicitate me.’ And last year it happened,” says the proud mother.
Shabaz’s hard work has finally made him realise his dream of playing for the country. The all rounder will hope to make many more appearances for the team in upcoming years.
