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Iftikhar Ahmed should be Pakistan's number 4 in ODIs

gazza619

Test Debutant
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Runs
13,562
This is the ODI World Cup year. The number 4 spot is vacant. I know Riz is claiming that spot but please let's not get fooled by his ODI average.

I have been gently campaigning in several threads over the past few weeks that Iftikhar Ahmed is the man for number 4 this year. He has the complete game. He can take singles, doubles, he can defend, he can slog. He can play against extreme pace, he can tackle quality spin. He can also accelerate when needed.

I plead to Mickey Arthur & Babar Azam to think openly. Let's not wait for the ever broken Haris Sohail to get fit again. Let's not get fooled by Shan's english and mannerism. Let's not get fooled by Abdullah Shafiq's technique. Iftikhar is the full package.

Who is your number 4 in ODIs?
 
Ifti will be in my XI for sure.

I'd have given these 5 games to Ghulam or Tahir tho and then made a decision. We need an extra Middle order bat anyway.
 
Been saying for ages that if he plays he needs to play in the top order.

He ain't a lower order finisher.

He can play big and bat deep.
 
Yeah among the current lot I’d say Ifti. Rizwan can stay at 5 with Agha Salman or even Imad Wasim at 6
 
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Iftikhar is a utility player not a no.4 batsman. Let's find a proper a solution not patchworks.
 
I like him as a 6, a guy to bring order if he the team gets into trouble. He doesnt have the mentality for a 4. Salman has to a develop into a 4 and Riz at 5.
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

You are playing one batter too many. Need one more spinner in there. I would drop a batter and pick Imad.

Haris Sohail is always broken, thats the problem.
 
You are playing one batter too many. Need one more spinner in there. I would drop a batter and pick Imad.

Haris Sohail is always broken, thats the problem.

If Haris is fit, I would always play him because he is an excellent ODI batsman.

I know the bowling looks a bit light but you have to be a little adventurous. Salman, Iftikhar and Haris can combine for 10 overs.

If Haris is unavailable you can play Iftikhar at 4 and slot Imad at 6.
 
If Haris is fit, I would always play him because he is an excellent ODI batsman.

I know the bowling looks a bit light but you have to be a little adventurous. Salman, Iftikhar and Haris can combine for 10 overs.

If Haris is unavailable you can play Iftikhar at 4 and slot Imad at 6.

Yeah we defo need Imad.

Shaheen, Rauf, Naseem etc can have really erratic days with the new ball. Imad is like taking insurance.
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

You’re basing your judgement on Haris Sohail on what he did in 2019. What has he done in recent years in domestic or PSL to merit a place in the 11? And, he’s injured again.

Also, you’re saying Ifti and Salman will share 10 overs? Bowling feels too thin and teams like Eng and India will not forgive you. Need a proper 5th bowler with Salman/Ifti as additional options.

Instead of Haris Sohail, the whole batting line up should move and Pak can include Imad Wasim or Shadab. This provides 5th bowling option and some depth.

more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Imad/Shadab
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers
 
He needs to rotate strike better, not pla shots on the last ball of the over, cause we have no wicekts. keep strike for 5 deliveries
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

Spot on . Only change is Harris for Rizwan. Rizwan is a nothing ODI player
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

oh plz, dont need harris. The guy is unfit, he barely plays any games. I wonder if he plays domestic one day now
 
No way is Iftikhar a number 4 batsmen nor is Rizwan. Rizwan needs to be at 5 with Iftikhar at 6.
 
Only 12 games in 8 years shows how much faith they had in him despite averaging over 40 in the format.
 
You’re basing your judgement on Haris Sohail on what he did in 2019. What has he done in recent years in domestic or PSL to merit a place in the 11? And, he’s injured again.

Also, you’re saying Ifti and Salman will share 10 overs? Bowling feels too thin and teams like Eng and India will not forgive you. Need a proper 5th bowler with Salman/Ifti as additional options.

Instead of Haris Sohail, the whole batting line up should move and Pak can include Imad Wasim or Shadab. This provides 5th bowling option and some depth.

more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Imad/Shadab
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

Haris is a natural ODI player. He hasn’t lost an inch in spite of all the injury woes. I thought he was done but the way he played against New Zealand in the January series showed that he is still the same player.

It is a shame that he had a freak injury in a training session before the first ODI otherwise he would have shown his class in this series.

In Fakhar, Imam and Babar, Pakistan have three 45+ averaging batsmen in the lineup. Haris can be the fourth one and it will give the team a lot of security and depth.
 
Good clutch player. Somehwat reminds me of Misbah. Just that Misbah leaves it way too late. This guy is a bit more calculative.
 
Haris is a natural ODI player. He hasn’t lost an inch in spite of all the injury woes. I thought he was done but the way he played against New Zealand in the January series showed that he is still the same player.

It is a shame that he had a freak injury in a training session before the first ODI otherwise he would have shown his class in this series.

In Fakhar, Imam and Babar, Pakistan have three 45+ averaging batsmen in the lineup. Haris can be the fourth one and it will give the team a lot of security and depth.

With Salman Ali Agha and Iftikhar following them up we have a very decent and consistent batting order. Maybe for the first time ever?

Its sad that our fans do not realize this. We have come a long way.
 
Haris is a natural ODI player. He hasn’t lost an inch in spite of all the injury woes. I thought he was done but the way he played against New Zealand in the January series showed that he is still the same player.

It is a shame that he had a freak injury in a training session before the first ODI otherwise he would have shown his class in this series.

In Fakhar, Imam and Babar, Pakistan have three 45+ averaging batsmen in the lineup. Haris can be the fourth one and it will give the team a lot of security and depth.


Alright, so Haris is like this big mystery box right now. Such suspense! I mean, obviously we should just bring back Inzi if we're going by that logic. Who needs a mystery when you can have the good ol' predictable stuff, right?

But seriously, were we even watching the same Pak vs NZ series in January? Let me refresh your memory. Rizwan, totally dominated that one-day tournament. He rocked it at number four, while Haris sluggishly followed at number five.

The first game that Pakistan won? That was all thanks to Rizwan. He top scored and scoffed around 70 runs and chased that score down with some help from Haris. And let's not forget the third game, where Rizwan single-handedly saved Pakistan by scoring a run-a-ball 80 at number four. That's what I call clutch!

Oh, and what about Haris Sohail? Well, apart from a quick cameo in the first game, he pretty much vanished in the last few matches.

Meanwhile, Rizwan continued his magic throughout this series, pulling off some match-winning 50s at “de facto” no4 (even though there was ZERO reason to demote him. He has even ended up being the third-highest scorer for Pakistan in this series, averaging a cool 55 with a strike rate of 105. And hey, let's not overlook his top-scoring performance in the recently concluded T20 series.

So yeah, I guess if you want to be a total fool, go ahead and keep rotating Rizwan away from that sweet number four spot where he shines brighter than all the options out there. Like seriously, who needs consistency and match-winning performances anyway? Let's keep the mystery alive, folks!
 
With Salman Ali Agha and Iftikhar following them up we have a very decent and consistent batting order. Maybe for the first time ever?

Its sad that our fans do not realize this. We have come a long way.

The current top 3 is the best Pakistan has ever had in this format. They are a couple of middle-order batsmen short of having the best batting lineup they have ever had.
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.
Yep..

anyone who has followed Haris’s career when he was just a top class domestic prospect around 2011/2012 to present day knows the type of talent and player he is beyond all his injury and fitness issues.

This may be his last hurrah considering his age. I’m not a fan of loading a team with “experienced” players just for the sake of it. But in Haris’s case it is justified. He’s world class.

I’m sure Babar can vouch for him. He’s a a few years ahead of Babar in development, and I’m sure Babar is aware of his journey too.

Haris as 4 with Abdullah on the bench as back up to injury
 
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Also, OGs will remember what Haris is capable of as a 6th bowling option as well :afridi
 
One thing noticeable is that's Cricketing intelligence way above all our batsman except Riz and Babar. Me thinks we missed out on potential captain
 
Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

I agree with this line plenty of bowling options and a very deep batting line up. Definitely our best odi line up as long as I can remember. But our clueless think tank will not go for it.
 
Will Young in his presser about Iftikhar:

“He is an amazing player. I can recall a couple of knocks when he almost won the game singlehandedly"

“I think the game is never over when Iftikhar is at the crease. And when I dropped him on 60 at point, my heart was pumping”
 
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Haris Sohail is the best middle-order ODI batsman in the country. He needs to bat at 4.

I would play Iftikhar at 6 with Rizwan at 5 because Iftikhar is a better hitter. He would be more useful in the later overs.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Usama
Shaheen
Two fast bowlers

This is a top ODI team. Certainly the best Pakistan have had in a very, very long time.

Solid lineup with good batting and bowling depth.

On form as well as accuracy Usama Mir is currently looking like the best spinner we have and can bat as much as some other all rounders.

Haris Sohail in my opinion if fit can change the games as he showed in WC 19 as well where he was one of the most clutch performers from Pakistan side. This series was important for him but, unfortunately injury again pushed back his case. Him there would allow Rizwan to be at 5 which can be a number where he can change the momentum of the game as at no 4 on many occasions you have to just settle in and create a partnership while Rizwan has proven more effective, at his optimal when he has that freedom to take the attack to the opposition.
 
Batting Ifti at four just takes us back a step. Who will bat at #6? Certainly not Salman after his performances at #5 and Rizwan isn't a lower-order hitter.

Rizwan has had one failure at #4. You need to give him time because he is undoubtedly the best suited to bat at that position. Haris Sohail is too injury-prone which is unfortunate because he is a top player.
 
Batting Ifti at four just takes us back a step. Who will bat at #6? Certainly not Salman after his performances at #5 and Rizwan isn't a lower-order hitter.

Rizwan has had one failure at #4. You need to give him time because he is undoubtedly the best suited to bat at that position. Haris Sohail is too injury-prone which is unfortunate because he is a top player.

We need a batsman at number 4

Not a circus performer.
 
Batting Ifti at four just takes us back a step. Who will bat at #6? Certainly not Salman after his performances at #5 and Rizwan isn't a lower-order hitter.

Rizwan has had one failure at #4. You need to give him time because he is undoubtedly the best suited to bat at that position. Haris Sohail is too injury-prone which is unfortunate because he is a top player.

Riz has scored two hundreds at number 4, and both games Pakistan lost. That is enough for me to know he makes very little impact.

Pakistan will win 99% times if iftimania scores a hundred.
 
Riz has scored two hundreds at number 4, and both games Pakistan lost. That is enough for me to know he makes very little impact.

Pakistan will win 99% times if iftimania scores a hundred.

Those two hundreds came against a depleted side as well. So they are not exactly big, important hundreds either
 
Batting Ifti at four just takes us back a step. Who will bat at #6? Certainly not Salman after his performances at #5 and Rizwan isn't a lower-order hitter.

Rizwan has had one failure at #4. You need to give him time because he is undoubtedly the best suited to bat at that position. Haris Sohail is too injury-prone which is unfortunate because he is a top player.


We have unfairly pigeonholed chacha as a finisher.

Imo we need to get him batting and facing as many balls as possible.

More balls than Riz and Salman for sure.
 
A guy that gets lampooned and gets the mick taken out of him by calling him Chacha and has become a celebrity because of it. But he needs to be played in one of the most crucial and serious batting positions?

Yeah, okay then.
 
A guy that gets lampooned and gets the mick taken out of him by calling him Chacha and has become a celebrity because of it. But he needs to be played in one of the most crucial and serious batting positions?

Yeah, okay then.

Well if Shan, Abdullah, Saim, Riz can all get a chance at number 4 then why not chacha. He has awesome list A record and is in red hot form.
 
Well if Shan, Abdullah, Saim, Riz can all get a chance at number 4 then why not chacha. He has awesome list A record and is in red hot form.

Go for it, Shame Abdullah couldn't take the opportunity as we were told he was the next star batsman.
 
Well if Shan, Abdullah, Saim, Riz can all get a chance at number 4 then why not chacha. He has awesome list A record and is in red hot form.

In India we should bat Agha at 4 he's a good player of spin.
 
Just 1 innings batting at number 4 in ODIs so far:

Runs 5
Balls faced 21
 
Horrible LPL for Ifthi.

I hope he doesn't take this form into upcoming matches for Pakistan.

At the LPL:

Innings 4
Runs 25
Balls faced 47
Average 6.25
Strike rate 53.19
 
Well for both Fakhar and Iftikhar its a worrying sign before going into International events.
 
When i first Chacha play, I thought the guy was useless but the more I have seen of him, the more I feel that a real talent has slipped through the net. If you look at the tripe we have invested 2 decades in, chacha deserved a fair run. For me he is the saver, the go to guy if we get into trouble. He should bat at 6.
 
When i first Chacha play, I thought the guy was useless but the more I have seen of him, the more I feel that a real talent has slipped through the net. If you look at the tripe we have invested 2 decades in, chacha deserved a fair run. For me he is the saver, the go to guy if we get into trouble. He should bat at 6.
Don’t know which match you are referring to, I saw him at gt20. He couldn’t play. More of a test player
 
Iftikhar Ahmed's ability to play the slog sweep effectively could be a valuable asset in his batting arsenal, particularly when he's looking to accelerate the run rate and take advantage of the fielding restrictions.
 
pathetic Player! Why are we even wasting time with this player! Plays way too many dot balls. Should definitely retire after this type of inning
 
No way, he is too inconsistent. Pakistan need batters with pedigree such as Umar Akmal, Mo Haris or Saud Shakeel
 
Needs to stick it out down the order where he can focus on finishing games. He isn't someone we want to see walk out in a pressure situation as he only adds to it. Ifti needs to play his natural attacking game to have any success at all.
 
To be fair to chacha, it was a difficult pitch to bat on, and literally no one looked comfortable today. Afghanistan literally got bowled out for 59.

Chacha, shadab and Imam are the only ones who contributed. I wouldn't blame him for his dismissal, haris Rauf was picking up wickets today this way, mainly because the ball was not coming on to the bat and was stopping midway which is why batsmen like chacha were getting out cheaply.

Although I do think chacha is old and should be replaced with tayyab tahir in the middle order and saud should be incorporated at no 4.
 
Good 50 run partnership with Imam and one that ultimately helped Pakistan reach 200.

He's a guy that you really want to do well and hopefully he can add consistency to his batting.
 
Good 50 run partnership with Imam and one that ultimately helped Pakistan reach 200.

He's a guy that you really want to do well and hopefully he can add consistency to his batting.
Heard this one a lot. He lacks consistency. Should be dropped for World Cup. Played bad catching shot
 
When i first Chacha play, I thought the guy was useless but the more I have seen of him, the more I feel that a real talent has slipped through the net. If you look at the tripe we have invested 2 decades in, chacha deserved a fair run. For me he is the saver, the go to guy if we get into trouble. He should bat at 6.
The guy is a good batter. Even today, on a pitch that was difficult and Salman Agha gave up, Ifti knew how to bat and did well. Luck was not on his side as the Nabi got his wicket, but he played a very decent innigns today considering the pitch.

The guy can change gears, and he was never given a proper run.
 
The guy is a good batter. Even today, on a pitch that was difficult and Salman Agha gave up, Ifti knew how to bat and did well. Luck was not on his side as the Nabi got his wicket, but he played a very decent innigns today considering the pitch.

The guy can change gears, and he was never given a proper run.
Good batter doesn’t play a shot like that how his wicket fell. Maybe he can do his Tuktuk in a test match
 
If he is batting at 6 then you can't really expect him to be consistent.
Thn throw him out of the team, let him do Uber/taxi and work for that 6th spot. Plays too many dot balls. Good Akhtar called him Tuktuk Misbah 2.0
 
The guy has had 8 games in T20 at 4 at a truly terrible stats of 24 SR 108.52. He has had 21 games at 4 in T20 at an average of 23.58 at SR 124.92.

At 6 in T20s he averages 34 SR 166. In ODIs at 6 so far he averages 53.6 at SR 106.

He's not exactly young and needs to perform straight away. There is no point playing him higher at 4 IMO, let's just stick to him at 6. Yes sometimes you feel like he would have had more impact in the game when he plays well at 6 but it's too late to turn things around. But he's also disappointed nearly every time he does come in early.

He's also been pretty poor at pacing and holding together an innings. Maybe that's why he succeeded at 6, it was more simple what he had to do, and Iftikhar has the shots in order to do it. I don't see the point at changing something that isn't broke at this stage. I would just have Rizwan 4, Agha Salman 5, Iftikhar 6. All have done pretty well of late at their respective positions even Rizwan, given his most successful position has been 4 in ODIs.
 
He's a good player and a shoe in for no.5 spot. The problem is he still doesn't trust himself enough to take the game head on.
 
his role is well defined as a finisher in the team.. So I think utilizing him lower down the order is rather suitable for him.
 
his role is well defined as a finisher in the team.. So I think utilizing him lower down the order is rather suitable for him.
I've changed my mind about iftikhar, primarily because I saw him as a misbah copycat, however its clear that despite a few weaknesses, his mindset is clearly superior to misbah and he believes in himself as a finisher.

My problem is agha and rizwan. Tayyab/abdullah and saud need to be in their place but then who's going to keep? And we also lose an extra bowler. That's the only issue I have.

If we replace these 2, haris needs to come in to keep, bit then we'll have to sacrifice nawaz and playing with only 5 bowlers is risky.
 
Rizwan ain't a bad choice as well at number 4. My main concern is Salman. I think Saud Shakeel would be a better option that him. Otherwise, our ODI side looks very settled at the moment.
 
It doesn't matter if he bats at number 4 or number 6, Chacha will always be number 1 in our hearts.
 
I think he should be used as a floater. For eg., yesterday when Rizwan got out the spinners were in operation. We all know he can be destructive against spin so he would have been an obvious choice ahead of Salman. If Pakistan is 200/3 then he can also be sent ahead of Rizwan to accelerate from the go. It needs to be a horses for courses method.
 
Ifti at 4 makes sense. He can hit the ball but to do so he requires to get a few overs in and that is exactly what is needed at 4.

I know I'm in the minority and this is unlikely to change but I can't see the reason for Rizwan to not only be batting this high in ODIs but...wait for it...should he even be in the ODI side? He isn't a big hitter of the ball and is lesser than Babar in the format yet tries to play a similar style. I think the the AC should have been used to breed Haris into the side and get him ready for the CWC.

With the likes of Shadab, Nawaz/Mir, Naseem lower down the order there are enough hitters for Pakistan.
 
I think he should be used as a floater. For eg., yesterday when Rizwan got out the spinners were in operation. We all know he can be destructive against spin so he would have been an obvious choice ahead of Salman. If Pakistan is 200/3 then he can also be sent ahead of Rizwan to accelerate from the go. It needs to be a horses for courses method.
Absolutely agree. Any wicket that falls after the 30 overs mark, he should be the first guy in, over Rizwan or anyone else. But obviously if we're 2/3 wickets down early on, I'd sooner send Rizwan and Salman, and try to save him as long as possible.
 
Absolutely agree. Any wicket that falls after the 30 overs mark, he should be the first guy in, over Rizwan or anyone else. But obviously if we're 2/3 wickets down early on, I'd sooner send Rizwan and Salman, and try to save him as long as possible.
Before this match I had only seen him play in t20s so was not sure about his inclusion over Saud Shakeel but he proved his selection was right. Now this makes me wonder why SKY isn't able to replicate the same in ODIs though he has a pretty decent List A expereince and record.
 
Before this match I had only seen him play in t20s so was not sure about his inclusion over Saud Shakeel but he proved his selection was right. Now this makes me wonder why SKY isn't able to replicate the same in ODIs though he has a pretty decent List A expereince and record.
I believe SKY has taken on a lot of pressure by entering the ODI format. No one can doubt his abilities he just needs the confidence boost in one day matches.
 
Iftikhar was easily looking most comfortable against India on that sticky wicket.

It is still not too late to send him at no.4 next game.
 
Iftikhar was easily looking most comfortable against India on that sticky wicket.

It is still not too late to send him at no.4 next game.
How standards have fallen - a 20 odd is a success nowadays
 
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