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[VIDEO] Is Iftikhar Ahmed the finisher Pakistan needs?

Demoted again today. Could've done better at 4. Got squeezed in the end by Ehsan Adil.
 
Iftikhar the medium pacer! He gets a wicket with his medium pace. Nice delivery.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/sc8q22" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
The top 10 of National T20 cup is filled with batsmen batting at positions 1-4. If you remove this and resample, Iftikhar Ahmed is the highest scoring middle order batsman in the tournament, doing so at the highest Strike Rate and the highest average.

He deserves to play in our T20 team despite his age, at least until the 2021 T20 world cup.
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
The top 10 of National T20 cup is filled with batsmen batting at positions 1-4. If you remove this and resample, Iftikhar Ahmed is the highest scoring middle order batsman in the tournament, doing so at the highest Strike Rate and the highest average.

He deserves to play in our T20 team despite his age, at least until the 2021 T20 world cup.
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Keep in mind the batting tracks - yet Iftikhar still manages to break into the top 10 as the only middle order bat.
 
Seems no clamor on this thread - he’s very consistent at high strike rate. Yes he looks old but can serve us well for the next 1-2 years.
 
The Viper said:
Iftikhar the medium pacer! He gets a wicket with his medium pace. Nice delivery.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/sc8q22" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
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Our David Warner.

I bet he can bat left handed. Keep wickets and also bowl left handed. A man of so many talents
 
And he flops again when it really matters.

Seems there is some mental block with this guy for the big matches and occasions.

He's fine in the less important matches, but cometh the hour, he's nowhere to be seen.
 
The incredible trust in Iftikhars abilities sees him selected for another series, this time Zimbabwe
 
shamaan said:
He deserves it more than asif ali and shaoib malik
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No he does not half sleep Malik would be better than him, but in reality there is no place for any of the trio with more deserving youngsters like Saud and Danish being wasted.
 
He's probably the only batsman we have right now suited to down the order. It's tough to fit him in the line up though.

If we play Rizwan up the order and need a batsman to bat 6, I'm not sure I can actually think of a better Pakistani batsman right now for the team. I think he'll be more consistent than the likes of Malik, Talat, Asif etc. I'll be interested to see how Haider and Abdullah do, but from what i've heard they're more top order batsmen.
 
After seeing Danish, I feel he should be groomed for no 6 spot in ODIs. It is important that he performs for Pakistan Shaheens and also List A tournament(Pakistan Cup). There was great control how he scored his runs and loved his composure in pressure suitation

Till then ifti chacha should play at 6 in ODIs
 
Iftikhar gets lots of hate for no reason. He was one of our better players during the limited overs leg of the Australia series. He has never really been given a fair run in the team and deserves his chance.
 
Saj said:
And he flops again when it really matters.

Seems there is some mental block with this guy for the big matches and occasions.

He's fine in the less important matches, but cometh the hour, he's nowhere to be seen.
Click to expand...

Iftikhar was the only player to show some guts and perform in Australia for us. He has been consistent since his comeback. Not sure what you mean by fails when it matters.
 
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He cannot keep getting selected on basis of couple matches he did OK in Australia. He has been given chances in every format of the game and has been ordinary or complete flop in majority of them. The guy failed even in the National Cup. This will be a wasted investment just like Asif A. Khushdil and Talat H were more deserving and later added to pace bowling department, our team has enough spin bowling all rounders.
 
Saj said:
And he flops again when it really matters.

Seems there is some mental block with this guy for the big matches and occasions.

He's fine in the less important matches, but cometh the hour, he's nowhere to be seen.
Click to expand...

2017/2018
Quaid E Azam Trophy Final
Playing for Sui Northern Gas Vs WPDA
First Innings - 73, Second Innings 106

2018/2019
Quaid E Azam Trophy Final
Habib Bank Vs Sui Northern Gas
Second Innings 52

One Day Cup 2013/2014 (Semi Final)
Peshawar Vs Lahore
103 Runs (MOTM)

One Day Cup 2013/2014 (Final)
40 Runs

National One Day Cup 2016/2017 (Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
131 Runs

National One Day Cup 2017/2018
Rawalpindi Vs Islamabad
123 Runs

Haier T20 Cup 2014/2015 (Final)
Lahore Vs Peshawar
50 Runs

Haier T20 Cup 2015/2016 (Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
57 Runs

National T20 Cup 2016/2017 (Semi Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
78 runs

National T20 Cup 2019/2020 (Semi Final)
Khyber Vs Northern
53 Runs

Cometh the man cometh the hour.

Iftikhar is one of the main reasons for the dominance of Khyber and Peshawar. He has scored big hundreds and important 50s in many finals now and I think everyone deserves to see this. He is a very clutch cricketer in knockout games.

This is not even a full list of his finals but I also recall him making two hundreds in two separate innings in a FC finals.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
29 or not. The man has toiled for years in domestic cricket and fully deserves his chance. Give him at least two series.
 
Better questions - Is Iftikhar Ahmed the most average player to ever play for Pakistan?
 
GudduBadmash said:
2017/2018
Quaid E Azam Trophy Final
Playing for Sui Northern Gas Vs WPDA
First Innings - 73, Second Innings 106

2018/2019
Quaid E Azam Trophy Final
Habib Bank Vs Sui Northern Gas
Second Innings 52

One Day Cup 2013/2014 (Semi Final)
Peshawar Vs Lahore
103 Runs (MOTM)

One Day Cup 2013/2014 (Final)
40 Runs

National One Day Cup 2016/2017 (Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
131 Runs

National One Day Cup 2017/2018
Rawalpindi Vs Islamabad
123 Runs

Haier T20 Cup 2014/2015 (Final)
Lahore Vs Peshawar
50 Runs

Haier T20 Cup 2015/2016 (Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
57 Runs

National T20 Cup 2016/2017 (Semi Final)
Karachi Vs Peshawar
78 runs

National T20 Cup 2019/2020 (Semi Final)
Khyber Vs Northern
53 Runs

Cometh the man cometh the hour.

Iftikhar is one of the main reasons for the dominance of Khyber and Peshawar. He has scored big hundreds and important 50s in many finals now and I think everyone deserves to see this. He is a very clutch cricketer in knockout games.

This is not even a full list of his finals but I also recall him making two hundreds in two separate innings in a FC finals.
Click to expand...

Whilst I’m not fully against Ifti’s inclusion. A lot of these stats as we can see are from 3 years ago or more.

Three years ago, Hassan Ali and Fakhar were two of our best players and Azhar was at his peak in test cricket so a lot can change.

We have also seen how Misbah started picking his old timers from 5 years ago and how it has spectacularly backfired.

Other players have also been ripping it up in the domestic cups and not only Ifti where he has struggled a bit.

I’d rather invest in someone like Khushdil who’s shown what he is capable of but Ifti can be a good bench player.
 
Kroll said:
Whilst I’m not fully against Ifti’s inclusion. A lot of these stats as we can see are from 3 years ago or more.

Three years ago, Hassan Ali and Fakhar were two of our best players and Azhar was at his peak in test cricket so a lot can change.

We have also seen how Misbah started picking his old timers from 5 years ago and how it has spectacularly backfired.

Other players have also been ripping it up in the domestic cups and not only Ifti where he has struggled a bit.

I’d rather invest in someone like Khushdil who’s shown what he is capable of but Ifti can be a good bench player.
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It was a response to his never turning up on the big stage. If the National T20 is classified as the big stage then so are all these other domestic tournaments he has performed in. I cannot name another as prolific as this guy when it comes to Semi and Final performances. There are serious agendas against him

Khushdil and Ifti should both be in the same team. I am a big fan of Khushdil but he is not in the same league as Ifthikhar as an all-round cricketer.

Take this from someone who watches these guys very regularly.
 
PakPremi said:
No he does not half sleep Malik would be better than him, but in reality there is no place for any of the trio with more deserving youngsters like Saud and Danish being wasted.
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What has Malik done hes played so many years he used to be ok but now hes just a walking wicket he comes in when the pressure is already off him hiding at number 5.saud is a good player but he has to perform in t20s for sindh and the psl team hes had opetonities in the national cup and they been below par.as for danish he has to waite for his chances khushdil deserves it more as he has been around the squad for quite a while
 
PakPremi said:
He cannot keep getting selected on basis of couple matches he did OK in Australia. He has been given chances in every format of the game and has been ordinary or complete flop in majority of them. The guy failed even in the National Cup. This will be a wasted investment just like Asif A. Khushdil and Talat H were more deserving and later added to pace bowling department, our team has enough spin bowling all rounders.
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How did he fail in the national cup he averages 30 and 155 strike rate !
 
shamaan said:
How did he fail in the national cup he averages 30 and 155 strike rate !
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He provided some very useful innings for Khyber in the tournament, everytime he performed he was demoted below Shoaib Malik in the pecking order.
 
GudduBadmash said:
He provided some very useful innings for Khyber in the tournament, everytime he performed he was demoted below Shoaib Malik in the pecking order.
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Agreed, lots of unnecessary hate for him. I am no fan of older players but if they are consistently 2 notches above any other person in the system they deserve the selection.

As a finisher alone, Iftikhar is two levels above anyone else except Khushdil Shah.

The only other person who can contend is Danish Aziz who has had a total of 2 performances in his career - if he replicates it over future seasons he deserves a chance as well.

For now, both Iftikhar and Khushdil belong in our middle order. And between the two of them, Iftikhar edges Khushdil slightly out since Khushdil is leg-side dominant.
 
Not a big fan but he hasn't done anything wrong to get some of the criticism he is getting.

Performed in 2 series and failed in 1 innings since his comeback.
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
Agreed, lots of unnecessary hate for him. I am no fan of older players but if they are consistently 2 notches above any other person in the system they deserve the selection.

As a finisher alone, Iftikhar is two levels above anyone else except Khushdil Shah.

The only other person who can contend is Danish Aziz who has had a total of 2 performances in his career - if he replicates it over future seasons he deserves a chance as well.

For now, both Iftikhar and Khushdil belong in our middle order. And between the two of them, Iftikhar edges Khushdil slightly out since Khushdil is leg-side dominant.
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Yes I am a big supporter of Khushdil Shah and very vocally for a long time now but he is not as good as Ifthikhar Ahmed who has consistently performed when given a fair chance. Ifthikhar has a much wider range of shots. They can both be very useful bowling options too. Chasing a big total with Ifti and Khushdil coming in will always be a relief as they can both hit big. I think someone needs to post that innings in Australia as it seems a lot of people here have short memories. Literally saved face for us. I can't recall many cricketers performing for us in Australia and when someone finally does be gets abuse for months after.
 
GudduBadmash said:
Walks in at 70-4 in the 11th over.
Pak end up with 150 after 20 and he was the only guy that really performed along with Babar. Back the guy and give him an actual chance and this will become a regular occurrence

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99eFG-nERkI&t=259s
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This innings forced me to give him a chance and he has yet to let me down in performances since then. He always chips in useful runs at a high strike rate for his team, even though people want to see 50s, his 18(10) knocks completely change the game for his team.

Another distinct memory is the opening match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi this year. KK (201-4) beat PZ (191-7), by a margin of 10 runs. In the last over, Iftikhar came in when Karachi was 185 (19.3 overs). He played only three balls, hitting 16*(3) - this was the difference in the end.

He has similar innings for KPK this season, not as marvelous at 500 SR but no doubt some very valuable contributions. He isn’t exactly ABDV or MSD but I struggle to think of even one another finisher in the country right now who has at least 1-2 seasons worth of performances.
 
He doesn't have any support. All haters. Any thing he does is called a fluke by the journalists. Have never seen a single journalist ever appreciating him or bringing up his stats. All they can do is make fun of that presser when Misbah when he called Ifti a 3-dimensional player.
These lot deserve hacks like Asif Ali who can't even maintain decent stats in domestic.
 
Salman4. said:
He doesn't have any support. All haters. Any thing he does is called a fluke by the journalists. Have never seen a single journalist ever appreciating him or bringing up his stats. All they can do is make fun of that presser when Misbah when he called Ifti a 3-dimensional player.
These lot deserve hacks like Asif Ali who can't even maintain decent stats in domestic.
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Unfortunately I have to agree. I know he’s bullying Zimbabwe, but he does have the performances to back his selection - the only thing against him is age and if he was 10 years younger with these same performances he would be hyped as the next Pakistan ATG.

He’s not particularly special, but he fulfills his roles very well and no one else seems to be able to do the same — reliable middle order bat with high strike rate, and plays around the ground rather than be limited in range. And a decent part timer to go with it.
 
Salman4. said:
He doesn't have any support. All haters. Any thing he does is called a fluke by the journalists. Have never seen a single journalist ever appreciating him or bringing up his stats. All they can do is make fun of that presser when Misbah when he called Ifti a 3-dimensional player.
These lot deserve hacks like Asif Ali who can't even maintain decent stats in domestic.
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He doesn't look 'Pakistani' enough. :afridi

It was the same problem with sarfaraz.
 
He look good today against Zimbabwe, but it is Zimbabwe mind you. I still think he's not good enough especially with the bat. But so far proving his doubters wrong including me (w/ball in hand)
 
He took 5 against zimbabwe so what Khushdik shah was highest wicket taker against England lions he took 3-5 wickets every match.
 
b.lesner said:
He took 5 against zimbabwe so what Khushdik shah was highest wicket taker against England lions he took 3-5 wickets every match.
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Really disappointed Khushdil isn't getting a game but Ifti is a much better cricketer than Khushdil.

This however proves Misbah is not going to endanger Asif Ali spot in the team. It may completely end his career if Khushdil fires
 
angrypathan said:
Iftikhar looks very Pakistani, he just looks 15 years older than his official age.
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Imagine if Misbah urged him to play on until his forties like himself. In reality he’d be nearer 60 years old.
 
Ifti is an upgrade on asif ali however I think khushdil is better than both
 
Waqar regarding Iftikhar


"We play Iftikhar as there is always a need for a sixth bowler and today Imad had a bad day and Itfikhar stepped in and took 5 wickets which must boost his confidence; So if we can get some other all-rounders who can give you an edge in bowling along with their batting so that is always handy; Pakistan has had players like Hafeez, Malik all of whom were batsmen who could bowl which helps in the balance of the side; Wonderful bowling from him today, and we expect the same from him every time he bowls"
 
MenInG said:
View attachment 104202
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Video of his performance today

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/jz4pbg" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
players like him make our side mediocre as they lack quality to be good against top teams.
 
JattMaula said:
He doesn't look 'Pakistani' enough. :afridi

It was the same problem with sarfaraz.
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show me one meaningful performance against a decent side. Even his knock in Aus were helped by the flying edges. Sarfraz was also very average and support like this helped him prolonged his career. It's painful to see these minnow bashers Pakistan keeps producing. Where is quality match winning talent. I would take Hafeez over this chacha any day.
 
Treated like a club level bowler by zim today .i am not sure what will he do against top player like kohli rohit,stokes etc 😂😂😂😂
 
saeed5646 said:
Treated like a club level bowler by zim today .i am not sure what will he do against top player like kohli rohit,stokes etc 😂😂😂😂
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Wahab the gun death bowler literally conceeded more runs than him.

The less said about specialist fast bowler musa the better. You are scapegoating the wrong guy.

60 runs for a part timer off 10 overs is not bad at all.
 
Nothing about his suggests that he can bat at the international level as a top order batsmen

He's a better fit to bat at #7 or #8 - and play as bowling allrounder. Better yet just drop him, not international calibre
 
4D chess from Zimbabwe. Give Iftikhar a few gifts in the 2nd ODI so they can get at least 1 win in the series when Misbah loses the plot and thinks he has a 10 over all rounder in him.
 
Of no use Iftikhar- should be the end of it.
 
Shameless age cheat should be dropped. He played like one match for Mickey and was never seen again.
 
That was one of the worst decision i ever saw .OMG what was babar misbah thinking
 
MRSN said:
players like him make our side mediocre as they lack quality to be good against top teams.
Click to expand...

As I said this guy is a very poor batsman infact a legside hack who has been given unneeded chances by someone who should not be coach of an international side
 
GudduBadmash said:
Wahab the gun death bowler literally conceeded more runs than him.

The less said about specialist fast bowler musa the better. You are scapegoating the wrong guy.

60 runs for a part timer off 10 overs is not bad at all.
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Yeah he is kohli with the bat that ugly leg side hoick was kohli esque
 
He’s clearly going through a bad patch but hoping the selectors and team management fully back Iftikhar given his impressive record and the numerous match winning performances he has given for Pakistan over the years. I’m sure once he gets his confidence back he will be the same player who scored that 165 v Australia and 144 chasing 350 against South Africa some years back ... or was that in my dreams?
 
Markhor said:
Shameless age cheat should be dropped. He played like one match for Mickey and was never seen again.
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I keep on saying that he is under Misbahs quota. And Misbahs arrogance is over the moon to let him bat super over Instead of Haider or Fakhar.
 
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