In the 2011 County Championship he managed 25 wickets at a bowling average of 41.00. In September, Shahzad was reprimanded for scuffing the pitch during the penultimate Championship match against Warwickshire and fined £750. The club was relegated from the First Division in the final match of the season. Shahzad regretted the incident, explaining "It's not the way I want to play my game. I don't want to be seen as a cheat, or a pitch-damager. ... It's one mistake I've made in an eight- or nine-year career so far. It's out of the blue for me, and I definitely would never do anything like it again. It was just a random, stupid act."