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[VIDEO] Is Iftikhar Ahmed the finisher Pakistan needs?

Thunderbolt14 said:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...shawar-zalmi-2nd-match-1211643/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...d-vs-pakistan-3rd-t20i-1233961/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...n-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-odi-1198487/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-vs-sri-lanka-3rd-t20i-1198491/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-2nd-t20i-1183528/full-scorecard
Click to expand...

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-vs-sri-lanka-1st-t20i-1198489/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-3rd-t20i-1183529/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...vs-bangladesh-1st-t20i-1213058/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...d-vs-pakistan-2nd-t20i-1198245/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-south-africa-1st-t20i-1243019/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-south-africa-2nd-t20i-1243020/full-scorecard

He needs to be more consistent. There's no doubting that the knock against Australia was very good (still stands as his best ever knock internationally), and the finish against NZ was also good. But he has taken his time to get going on numerous occasions. As a finisher, a T20 SR of around 120 is simply not good enough. Not to mention he just flopped vs SA at home as well.

I agree he gets more hate than he deserves. Between Asif, Talat, and Iftikhar, it's Ifti who has held his own and he is the only one of the three who would still make it to our next squad on merit for still having a pretty good T20I record. But he needs to show more often that he can go at it from ball 1, simply because we already have Rizwan and Babar in the side. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind Ifti as much.

Before you ask for alternatives, I would suggest having Imad/Shadab/Faheem from #6-8 rather than having another specialist bat at 6. Before that, I would give Danish a shot just to be fair (even though I realize he takes his time to get going as well).
 
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Square Drive said:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-vs-sri-lanka-1st-t20i-1198489/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-3rd-t20i-1183529/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...vs-bangladesh-1st-t20i-1213058/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...d-vs-pakistan-2nd-t20i-1198245/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-south-africa-1st-t20i-1243019/full-scorecard

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-south-africa-2nd-t20i-1243020/full-scorecard

He needs to be more consistent. There's no doubting that the knock against Australia was very good (still stands as his best ever knock internationally), and the finish against NZ was also good. But he has taken his time to get going on numerous occasions. As a finisher, a T20 SR of around 120 is simply not good enough. Not to mention he just flopped vs SA at home as well.

I agree he gets more hate than he deserves. Between Asif, Talat, and Iftikhar, it's Ifti who has held his own and he is the only one of the three who would still make it to our next squad on merit for still having a pretty good T20I record. But he needs to show more often that he can go at it from ball 1, simply because we already have Rizwan and Babar in the side. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind Ifti as much.

Before you ask for alternatives, I would suggest having Imad/Shadab/Faheem from #6-8 rather than having another specialist bat at 6. Before that, I would give Danish a shot just to be fair (even though I realize he takes his time to get going as well).
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Bro look at the situation in the scorecards you sent. He’s the top scorer in the first one because of a proper collapse and thus batted slowly, only reason we actually got to 100. Same story for the second one. No one else even reached 15 and he made 45.

3rd, 4th, and 5th one, yes, bad knocks and slow.

6th one, came in at 48/3 and was given the task of rebuilding, which he did (even if it wasn’t at that good of a strike rate).

So all combined that’s 5 great knocks (the ones I mentioned), 2 good innings (your first two), 1 mediocre one (your sixth) and 3 bad ones (3rd, 4th, 5th). Now put this in context of the fact that these are T20 performances, so occasional failures are absolutely expected.

Iftikhar steps up when his teams need him. The only reason I agree with you on Shadab, Imad, Faheem forming our lower middle order is because Iftikhar cannot bowl, and because he cannot field either. As a pure batsman though, Iftikhar gets talked about like he goes missing every other game.

My personal middle order will consist of Fakhar, Haider, Shadab, Faheem, and Imad.
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
Bro look at the situation in the scorecards you sent. He’s the top scorer in the first one because of a proper collapse and thus batted slowly, only reason we actually got to 100. Same story for the second one. No one else even reached 15 and he made 45.

3rd, 4th, and 5th one, yes, bad knocks and slow.

6th one, came in at 48/3 and was given the task of rebuilding, which he did (even if it wasn’t at that good of a strike rate).

So all combined that’s 5 great knocks (the ones I mentioned), 2 good innings (your first two), 1 mediocre one (your sixth) and 3 bad ones (3rd, 4th, 5th). Now put this in context of the fact that these are T20 performances, so occasional failures are absolutely expected.

Iftikhar steps up when his teams need him. The only reason I agree with you on Shadab, Imad, Faheem forming our lower middle order is because Iftikhar cannot bowl, and because he cannot field either. As a pure batsman though, Iftikhar gets talked about like he goes missing every other game.

My personal middle order will consist of Fakhar, Haider, Shadab, Faheem, and Imad.
Click to expand...

Fair enough - you can excuse him for scorecard #1 and #2. #6 is a poor knock for T20s regardless of the role you're playing. A SR of 100 is never on man.

Also, my point about his overall career SR in T20s stands - that's a concern for someone competing for the #5 or #6 slot. In comparison, each one of Faheem/Shadab/Imad have a higher SR in either one of T20s or T20Is, or both. Add in their bowling too, as you mentioned.

I do agree though that he gets crucified far more than he deserves. We have bigger problems than him atm, that's for sure. He is still a more competent bowler than Talat and Asif (the latter doesn't bowl) for what it's worth, so there's that too. And obviously, he has more to show for in T20Is so far than those two as well.

So yeah not the best, but I agree he gets criticized more than he should. There are certain aspects to like about him as well.
 
For T20s he is not the worst option. Just keep him away from the ODI and test team.

In T20s if he faces 7/8 balls and gets 20 that is decent. He is capable of that but probably don't expect it on a consistent basis.
 
Hasan123 said:
For T20s he is not the worst option. Just keep him away from the ODI and test team.

In T20s if he faces 7/8 balls and gets 20 that is decent. He is capable of that but probably don't expect it on a consistent basis.
Click to expand...

He is most suited to the ODI team
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
Most underrated guy in Pakistan. He’s not MS Dhoni but he steps up whenever he gets a chance, in about 8/10 innings and plays exactly according to the situation.

Can rebuild, can coast, and can smash depending on what’s needed. No one else in Pakistan can do all three of these things and has showed they can do this at the international level.

Unfortunately his detractors wait for those remaining 2/10 innings to jump into this thread and make claims about him disappearing for the national team.
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He doesn't seem to have any shots on the offside which would explain why he doesn't score so well against teams with good fast bowlers who can pitch outside off stump. I'm still not convinced as I think he would struggle against attacks like NZ or England.
 
Ifitkhar is better than all his competitors the amount of hates he gets is unbelievable
 
There’s no way in hell that Asif Ali can get picked ahead of Ifthikar Ahmed. Asif Ali is only good for PSL.
 
Iftikhar's been out of form, he's not the answer. Mentioning him as an option is just depressing.
 
Why was he dropped only after 20 LOI games. He did play a few decent innings. Surely better than danish aziz and haider Ali.
Has good domestic stats as well to back his cause
 
I would 100% have this guy in the line up.

He is competent against spin and bowls handy offspin, so a luxury cricketer to have in the UAE.
 
Why is Ifti not in the team?

What is M Wasim doing?!?!

All we have is a bunch of talent-less hacks who we've tried - all failures. There's nobody in the pipeline either, we're a talentless bunch truly.

But, this guy Ifti, who's the only one who can more often than not hit well, gets dropped?

Iftikhar >>> Maqsood, Azam Khan, Asif Ali etc.
 
Ifti is probably the only guy who can bowl decent off-spin for Pakistan without the danger of him being reported to the ICC.

I think it’s a safe bet to just have him in the XI instead of Sohaib Maqsood or any other fringe player.

If Maqsood has to play then he should only play as an opener. Complete waste of a spot otherwise
 
Barragan said:
I would 100% have this guy in the line up.

He is competent against spin and bowls handy offspin, so a luxury cricketer to have in the UAE.
Click to expand...

He’s actually a gun fielder on the boundary too. Underrated player
 
Iftikhar isn't the answer. Therein lies a structural and managerial failure regardless of which players you keep recycling.
 
Misbah: "Iftikhar has performed in white ball cricket, He has performed in Australia and has an avg of above 40. Yet he gets ignored. Basically, people have issues with me so they also have issues with Iftikhar. He probably doesn't get selected because of me"
 
I am surprised why Iftikhar was ignored by the selectors. If I were the selector, I would play him instead of Shoaib Malik or Mohammad Hafeez.
 
There was a post in this thread saying that he freezes in pressure ocassion Although there are numerous innings and contributions from him in pressure situations but the NT20 and now this QEA final should finish this.
 
The undisputed king of Pakistani domestic cricket!

Seriously though can't think of any player who has dominated domestic cricket the way he has in the last few years. Its amazing that he still has to fight for a place in limited-overs sides.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
The undisputed king of Pakistani domestic cricket!

Seriously though can't think of any player who has dominated domestic cricket the way he has in the last few years. Its amazing that he still has to fight for a place in limited-overs sides.
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Khurram Manzoor? But yes Chacha looks a cut above everyone else when he plays domestic, it's very strange that he was never given much of a rope and consistently overlooked even when in good form.
 
The only thing Iftikhar is finishing at the moment is his own international career.

His numbers make for painful reading despite him being around for 7 years at the top level.

Patience of the selectors must be being tested.
 
Brilliant finish again tonight.
4 boundaries off 4 balls to finish it. He really bullies bowlers in KPL and domestic. But he'll never recover from that stint with Quetta in PSL. ISLU is the ideal team for any player to develop his game.
 
Salman4. said:
Brilliant finish again tonight.
4 boundaries off 4 balls to finish it. He really bullies bowlers in KPL and domestic. But he'll never recover from that stint with Quetta in PSL. ISLU is the ideal team for any player to develop his game.
Click to expand...


24*(8) for Iftikhar

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 52.875%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/48tsz7" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
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