‘I can solve England’s all-rounder problem’ says Yorkshire cricketer Ajmal Shahzad (From York Press)

‘I can solve England’s all-rounder problem’ says Yorkshire cricketer Ajmal Shahzad

9:51am Tuesday 19th January 2010 in

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Ajmal Shahzad has admitted that his selection for the full England cricket squad came as a shock.

The 24-year-old Yorkshire pace bowler has been called up for next month’s tours of the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, which will be captained by Alastair Cook instead of the rested Andrew Strauss.

“To go from trying to establish myself in the Yorkshire first team to being selected for the England team in the space of a year is a big step,” said the Huddersfield-born player.

“I know it’s a shock for everyone. It’s a shock for me, but I know that I have got the ability to be able to perform at that level.”

Shahzad, who took 40 wickets and scored 445 runs in a stunning 2009 County Championship campaign, will be joined for the one-dayers against Pakistan in the Gulf and Bangladesh by White Rose colleague Tim Bresnan.

Despite impressing on the recent ECB Performance Programme tour to South Africa, which included a match-winning haul of 7-84 in a friendly against the Nashua Titans, Shahzad was still expecting to get an England Lions call at best.

But, when his name was not included for their tour to the UAE, he did not put two and two together.

“It never really clicked,” he said. “So I rang a couple of the ECB coaches like David Parsons to find out why.

“He told me to hang fire, just let it lie because I would be getting a phone call soon and that it was all good news. I got a phone call from Geoff Miller just before the weekend to tell me what was going on. I was delighted.”

With last season’s stats being so impressive, with both bat and ball, it is understandable that some people have described him as a potential successor for Andrew Flintoff.

Yorkshire and England Lions captain Andrew Gale said: “I think Ajmal will thrive on being compared to Andrew Flintoff. He scored some valuable runs for us last year.”

Shahzad’s take on it was pretty similar.

He said: “I’ve always given myself a lot of credit for what I’ve done. It’s not arrogance, it’s just that I’ve got massive self belief.

“I know a lot of people see me as just a fast bowler, but I see myself as a bowling all-rounder who can bat.”

Meanwhile, Bresnan and Anthony McGrath will find out today whether they will get a deal to play in the Indian Premier League.

England squads

England squads for tour of Bangladesh

One-day international squad: A Cook (captain, Essex), T Bresnan (Yorkshire), S Broad (Nottinghamshire), P Collingwood (Durham), J Denly (Kent), E Morgan (Middlesex), M Prior (Sussex), K Pietersen (Hampshire), L Plunkett (Durham), R Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), A Shahzad (Yorkshire), G Swann (Nottinghamshire), J Tredwell (Kent), J Trott (Warwickshire), L Wright (Sussex).

Test squad: A Cook (captain, Essex), I Bell (Warwickshire), S Broad (Nottinghamshire), M Carberry (Hampshire), P Collingwood (Durham), S Davies (Surrey), G Onions (Durham), K Pietersen (Hampshire), L Plunkett (Durham), M Prior (Sussex), A Shahzad (Yorkshire), R Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), G Swann (Nottinghamshire), J Tredwell (Kent), J Trott (Warwickshire), L Wright (Sussex).