[VIDEOS] Iftikhar Ahmed, the part time bowler and his utilization by Pakistan

[emranabbas]

Why isn't chacha ifti being groomed as a bowler

With chacha bowling 10 overs of spin and shadab bowling 10 overs of spin we probably could drop nawaz and bring in an extra batsmen like saud Or even make room for a full time spinner like abrar we already have agha who is also bowling some rubbish spin so I don't think nawaz is really needed

 

[ExpressPacer]

Did you watch the game vs India? He bowled absolute pies the whole game and relieved any pressure that was created on the other end. Went at 10 RPO.

He is an OK option against lower quality sides but he will get belted by any good teams.

 

[apnapind]

Did you watch the game vs India? He bowled absolute pies the whole game and relieved any pressure that was created on the other end. Went at 10 RPO.

He is an OK option against lower quality sides but he will get belted by any good teams.

Not really he is a better bowler than maxwell and aus are playing him as their frontline spinner.

 

[Rana]

Not really he is a better bowler than maxwell and aus are playing him as their frontline spinner.

What are you on about?

Adam Zampa is their front line spinner

 

[emranabbas]

I'm not saying he's a good bowler what I'm saying is that he can be worked on to make a better bowler to make room for a batsmen like saud..

We have shadab agha chacha and nawaz in the same line up and every one on them is rubbish

 

[apnapind]

What are you on about?

Adam Zampa is their front line we

Well if zampa is their main spinner good luck winning a world cup with him didnt he just went for over 100 runs vs sa if i am not wrong.

 

[Rana]

Well if zampa is their main spinner good luck winning a world cup with him didnt he just went for over 100 runs vs sa if i am not wrong.

Pakistan hope to win a World Cup with Shadab as its main spinner

Who needs more good luck?

 

[Rana]

Maxwell is a much better ‘part time offie” than Iftikhar

Way more experience and isn’t afraid to bowl to right handers

 

[apnapind]

Pakistan hope to win a World Cup with Shadab as its main spinner

Who needs more good luck?

Well pak does need lots of luck but if you are saying zampa is their main spinner i can only feel sorry for aus

 

[Rana]

Well pak does need lots of luck but if you are saying zampa is their main spinner i can only feel sorry for aus

You don’t need to feel sorry for them

They know their business

 

[apnapind]

You don’t need to feel sorry for them

They know their business

look pak doesnt have someone like kuldeep or ashwin in their ranks better to go with ifti and go with three fast bowlers which is pak strength.

 

[Rana]

look pak doesnt have someone like kuldeep or ashwin in their ranks better to go with ifti and go with three fast bowlers which is pak strength.

Fair enough

But in the subcontinent, opposition teams welcome pace. Easy runs

 

[apnapind]

Fair enough

But in the subcontinent, opposition teams welcome pace. Easy runs

Ya thats true pace brings runs in subcontinent so whats your team lineup ifti plus 3 fast bowlers?

 

[Rana]

Ya thats true pace brings runs in subcontinent so whats your team lineup ifti plus 3 fast bowlers?

Honestly bro in this team I would go with Shadab and Usama both, play 2 seamers (Shaheen and Rauf)

This is why I keep reiterating that Pakistan blundered in the past 4 years by not developing a proper fast bowling all rounder

 

[apnapind]

Honestly bro in this team I would go with Shadab and Usama both, play 2 seamers (Shaheen and Rauf)

This is why I keep reiterating that Pakistan blundered in the past 4 years by not developing a proper fast bowling all rounder

Ya true pak made a mess of it they should have groomed a proper fast bowling allrounder.

 

[Rana]

Ya true pak made a mess of it they should have groomed a proper fast bowling allrounder.

Grooming fast bowling all rounders is an art

You need a captain who is willing to make his pace bowling all rounder the big player of his side. Pakistan’s leadership is more inclined on making certain individuals stars

 

[deltexas]

Iftikhar can give a few overs. Not fair to ask him for 10 overs. Nawaz as well . Issue then is now you have 3 bits and pieces spin bowling players- iftikhar Nawaz Shadab. Add in hasan ali. And those 30 overs can hurt pak real bad by quality teams

 

[Bilal7]

In an ideal scenario, we would not need to rely on Chacha, Agha or Saud. Also, the ICC has heavily nerfed off-spin. You can't rely on an off-spinner being one of your main five bowlers, with no backup, or you'll eventually end up having a bad time.

.

 

[hassan918]

Iftikhar has been making some contribution with the ball in ODI cricket for Pakistan. His economy rate is less than 6 and he has taken a fifer in this format as well. He is likely to make decent contribution with the ball in this World Cup.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

he is way better than nawaz, i think he can easily bowl 5 to 7 quick overs with a wicket or more, so why not adding any specialist batsman in place of nawaz?

 

[da_don]

will miss imad his overs in the middle were always useful

 

[hitthestump]

will miss imad his overs in the middle were always useful

No, his overs in the middle weren't useful. That's why he averages 45 and was dropped.

I want Imad in this XI but i'm under no impression he's some drastic bowling improvement on Nawaz. All our options are bad - Imad is just more economical and a better batsman.

 

[hitthestump]

he is way better than nawaz, i think he can easily bowl 5 to 7 quick overs with a wicket or more, so why not adding any specialist batsman in place of nawaz?

Because if Nawaz gets tonked then your plan B is Chacha.

If Chacha gets tonked then Plan B is not going to look like much of a plan.

Having Chacha/Agha as 5th bowler is a massive gamble. If their mandatory 10 overs are getting spanked it could throw the bowling into disarray, for example if we have to bring back Shaheen early to stem the momemtum.

Not sure the extra batsman really compensates for that. They are part timers but not on the level of Hafeez who could be trusted with a full quota spell.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Chacha isn't good enough to bowl 10 overs but he is for sure under utilised by Babar - especially in T20 cricket.

Babar comes in with set plans and doesn't deviate from them. But he could easily slip in a strategic couple of overs here and there from Chacha.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Because if Nawaz gets tonked then your plan B is Chacha.

If Chacha gets tonked then Plan B is not going to look like much of a plan.

Having Chacha/Agha as 5th bowler is a massive gamble. If their mandatory 10 overs are getting spanked it could throw the bowling into disarray, for example if we have to bring back Shaheen early to stem the momemtum.

Not sure the extra batsman really compensates for that. They are part timers but not on the level of Hafeez who could be trusted with a full quota spell.

how much wrong it can go when we r already taking a gamble by including a player like Shadab Khan and giving him opportuntities to bowl a full quota of 10 overs with his full tosses and half crackers.

I think experiment of chacha can't go that much wrong! 5 overs with chacha and 5 overs salman can do the trick.

 

[emranabbas]

Nawaz averages 43 this year in 10 games
Shadab averages 39 this year in 11 games
Chacha averages 41 this year 1n 9 games

Point I'm making is if chacha can do the same job as nawaz why do we then need nawaz. chacha isn't even a part time bowler where as nawaz is our main spin bowler

 

[shah_1]

Nawaz has been garbage this year, chachu is a better option than him for sure. He outbowled Nawaz and Shadab in the match against Sri Lanka

 

[amvbfm]

Any astute captain would be happy to have someone like him in the playing XI. He will not give you 10 overs but used wisely he can easily squeeze in 3-4 overs somewhere in the middle and give the captain more flexibility in case one of the main bowlers struggles to finish his quota. The real issue is Babar's robotic captaincy. He rarely uses his sixth and seventh options even if the opposition is going after the main ones. Amusingly even in the warm up he just bowled 6 bowlers when every team has tried at least 8 or 9 - NZ even opened the bowling with Phillips of all people!

It would be foolish to think he will bowl his full quota or run through sides but his tactical value for a 3-4 over spell somewhere between overs 15-35 is undeniable.

 

[emranabbas]

Heck no he's not going to run through sides but nor is nawaz running through sides

 

[BouncerGuy]

Iftikhar is a good enough bowler for 5 to 6 overs. He might not be completing his 10 overs quota but easily he can chip in with overs in the middle. He is capable enough for this.

 

[emranabbas]

And usama mir less said about him the better
Average of 35 in 8 games are we for real playing these lot in a world cup

 

[amvbfm]

Heck no he's not going to run through sides but nor is nawaz running through sides

Tell that to our captain. He just doesn't have the brains or guts to do anything other than his set script of bowling 5 or 6 bowlers for exactly the same spells every game.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

In my opinion Iftikhar has a better game awareness than Salman Agha, so it would be a better decision to send him in to bat before Salman.

 

[gazza619]

Why isn't chacha ifti being groomed..

Please let me correct your opening sentence. Chacha doesnt get groomed, Chacha grooms others.

 

[NeVerMind]

Please let me correct your opening sentence. Chacha doesnt get groomed, Chacha grooms others.

That's sounds well dodgy!

 

[kron]

Did well. Dropped catches or not.

 

[Firebat]

Closest thing we have to a consistent power hitter / finisher. Let's hope he does the business when it matters.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Babar doesn't trust iftikhar as a bowler, but i think he is quite consistent with his strict line and length where batsmen find it so difficult to hit boundaries.

So yeah for me he could be a best utility bowler in Pakistan team.

 

[Justcrazy]

Any astute captain would be happy to have someone like him in the playing XI. He will not give you 10 overs but used wisely he can easily squeeze in 3-4 overs somewhere in the middle and give the captain more flexibility in case one of the main bowlers struggles to finish his quota. The real issue is Babar's robotic captaincy. He rarely uses his sixth and seventh options even if the opposition is going after the main ones. Amusingly even in the warm up he just bowled 6 bowlers when every team has tried at least 8 or 9 - NZ even opened the bowling with Phillips of all people!

It would be foolish to think he will bowl his full quota or run through sides but his tactical value for a 3-4 over spell somewhere between overs 15-35 is undeniable.

You need a captain like Dhoni to use part timers to the fullest.

 

[shamaan]

He's good enough as a 6th bowler.

 

[mominsaigol]

My problem is the why our brainless management handles Ifti. Its like they have no clue what they want him to be.

He shifts up and down the order sometimes batting even lower then usama mir or hasan Ali.

And he's sometimes used as a bowler, sometimes isn't. Makes no sense.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

He's good enough as a 6th bowler.

I dont know why he doesnt get confidence of Babar as a bowler, even though he can be used as a 5th bowler so u can drop shadab and pick Haris or Saud into the playing 11.

One thing is for sure that batsman will win u matches in this world cup not the bowlers so we have to make batting quite soild to chase down any target.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

My problem is the why our brainless management handles Ifti. Its like they have no clue what they want him to be.

He shifts up and down the order sometimes batting even lower then usama mir or hasan Ali.

And he's sometimes used as a bowler, sometimes isn't. Makes no sense.

It must be a terrible blow for a batters confidence when they are demoted below fake all rounders.

Babar has done this with Chacha a few times and did it with Asif Ali a lot too.

As a bowler he only bowls in terrible situation or when someone is injured. Babar should slip a couple of quick chacha overs in when the batting side is on the back foot. It will then give him more room to juggle other bowlers too.

 

[mominsaigol]

It must be a terrible blow for a batters confidence when they are demoted below fake all rounders.

Babar has done this with Chacha a few times and did it with Asif Ali a lot too.

As a bowler he only bowls in terrible situation or when someone is injured. Babar should slip a couple of quick chacha overs in when the batting side is on the back foot. It will then give him more room to juggle other bowlers too.

I mean asif Ali was a misbah parchi, with the exception of having a killer 2021 t20 cup, the guy was trying to make a career out of hitting one six and getting out.

Chacha is a genuine finisher and lower order bat. He's not the best or anything but he's a proper bat, so makes zero sense as to why babar does this with him. Then again I am not suprised, Babar is probably the most clueless captain I have ever seen since I started watching cricket in 2011.

Azhar Ali was also clueless but atleast azhar knew he had to step down for sarfi, and azhar didn't occupy captaincy for long. Babar has been captaining like an idiot for years.

He badly badly badly needs to learn how latham was captaining. Babar and butler aka clueless captains ong.

 

[Firebat]

Surely Ifti can be effective as a part timer like Glenn Phillips was today.

 

[emranabbas]

This is what I'm talking about!!!

 

[SalimBhai]

Chacha chacha chacha

 

[Major]

Chacha gets a wicket on the first ball

 

[FearlessRoar]

Iftikhar bowled Ackermann

 

[Major]

Btw did chacha chuck that one?

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Btw did chacha chuck that one?

haha his bowling style is inherently like that but he doesn't actually chuck.

 

[Abid Z]

A right arm off spinner even part time is useful against left handers. Tbh I’d like to see abrar in the team but I don’t know who to drop out of Shadab, ifti and Nawaz. Saw some good hitting and useful spin from everybody in the Netherlands match

 

[Cricket Warrior]

ODI Bowling Stats of Iftikhar And Rashid Khan in last 5 matches.

Iftikhar
5 Matches, 5 wickets, Avg 32.4
Overs Bowled 25


Rashid khan
5 Matches, 3 Wickets, AVG 90.6
Overs Bowled 49


One Bowler is One of the Best Spinner Currently and other one is a part timer. Also it tells you that how good iftikhar has been for us as utility cricketer.

 

[shamaan]

I dont know why he doesnt get confidence of Babar as a bowler, even though he can be used as a 5th bowler so u can drop shadab and pick Haris or Saud into the playing 11.

One thing is for sure that batsman will win u matches in this world cup not the bowlers so we have to make batting quite soild to chase down any target.

Becouse he isn't good enough to bowl 10 overs but he's okay enough to bowl 3-5 overs as the 6th bowler.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Becouse he isn't good enough to bowl 10 overs but he's okay enough to bowl 3-5 overs as the 6th bowler.

if shadab can complete his bowling quota of 10 overs with his juicy full tosses so why not Iftikhar? he is way better than shadab and has better control on a ball.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think Ifti should have a good time with the ball in India.

On pitches like Chennai or Pune, he can be very economical and effective.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Iftikhar Ahmed 11/0 after 3 Overs brilliant Bowling

 

[emranabbas]

Looks like chacha will be bowling full 10 overs

 

[hassan918]

At the moment he is the only one in our team that we can rely on to hit sixes and when you are playing in a World Cup, you must have at least 3-4 people who can clear the ground at will.

 

[Major]

Iftikhar Ahmad during his conversation with the media:

"In the meeting, we had decided that the bowlers will advise bowlers. Because a bowler who has bowled already gets an understanding of the pitch and where to bowl. That's why we gathered to discuss where to bowl on this wicket."

This means that Babar Azam has given up the captaincy mid world cup and we have no one leading the side and the bowlers have to find their own way and fielding placement will be done by a group of bowlers.

This is gonna blow up real bad. So Babar is just there to do toss.

 

[Inzi_fan_No_1]

This is nothing new but only probably is that we lack a experienced bowler who has been there and done it. Hasan is the experienced one but a shadow of the player he used to be.

 

[mominsaigol]

Toothless bowlers coaching toothless bowlers?

This is like asking my uneducated Butler to coach me on calculus.

 

[mominsaigol]

Iftikhar Ahmad during his conversation with the media:

"In the meeting, we had decided that the bowlers will advise bowlers. Because a bowler who has bowled already gets an understanding of the pitch and where to bowl. That's why we gathered to discuss where to bowl on this wicket."

This means that Babar Azam has given up the captaincy mid world cup and we have no one leading the side and the bowlers have to find their own way and fielding placement will be done by a group of bowlers.

This is gonna blow up real bad. So Babar is just there to do toss.

He hasn't just given up the captaincy this world cup, he gave up since the Asia cup lol.

It was game over since then

 

[hassan918]

This is nothing new but only probably is that we lack a experienced bowler who has been there and done it. Hasan is the experienced one but a shadow of the player he used to be.

Speaking of Hasan, his performance hasn't been bad in this World Cup so far.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Chacha should be introduced around the 15th over and should bowl his 10 overs on the trot. This means he would finish around 35th over. His economical bowling will ensure the opposition doesn't get momentum at least till the 35th over. Then the Pak bowlers can approach it like a T20 game, a format where thrive.

 

[emranabbas]

Chacha finally opening today

 

[hassan918]

He is a useful bowler but it was a surprising decision to give him the first over.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Iftikhar has opened the bowling today against Bangladesh. and looks like he is gonna bowl his quota. nice start for him.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Excellent bowing till now from Iftikhar. He took a big wicket of Litton Das and broke the Partnership.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[emranabbas]

I don't know why babar took him off after 2 overs when we had bangladesh under pressure
And gave ball to harris the run machine

All momentum was shifted to bangladesh

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Iftikhar is a part time bowler and he's more effective. Just what is it that coaches and selectors use as criteria when picking a player for international duty? I don't even watch cricket these days and I thought he was very poor years ago.

 

[saqib.rai]

Iftikhar is a part time bowler and he's more effective. Just what is it that coaches and selectors use as criteria when picking a player for international duty? I don't even watch cricket these days and I thought he was very poor years ago.

He was actually really really good in the PSL this year

 

[Major]

Iftikhar is a part time bowler and he's more effective. Just what is it that coaches and selectors use as criteria when picking a player for international duty? I don't even watch cricket these days and I thought he was very poor years ago.

Iftikhar Ahmad was performing in domestic cricket.

Criteria for selection gets set by either the captain or the selector. Captains that have respect amongst the players and boards and have influence on things sometimes set what the selection procedure will be.

Misbah was heavily involved with his domestic teams, SNGPL/ Faisalabad Region/ Faisalabad Wolves. In one of the faysal bank t20 games, Faisalabad Wolves were facing Peshawar, and in that year, Iftikhar was coming in at no.6 and demolishing teams. Faisalabad Wolves under Misbah were gonna win that night, but than Iftikhar demolished Faislabad. He provided clean hitting etc and when a player use to defeat Misbahs team, Misbah would start liking that player.

He was selected but didnt do quite well in his early days.

Anyways, after the 2019 World Cup, Paksitan saw it did not have any hitters, so they tried Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Danish Aziz and lastly Iftikhar.

Iftikhar got his comeback and did well. Ifti also bowls off spin part time. Now Babar doesnt know how to use part time bowlers and that is why Ifti is under utilized as a bowler, but he gets more spin than Shadab

 

[Major]

I don't know why babar took him off after 2 overs when we had bangladesh under pressure
And gave ball to harris the run machine

All momentum was shifted to bangladesh

worlds most stupid captain.

Even now, there are two overs of ifti left and he is not finishing his overs. He will end up leaving his overs in death and than when Ifti gets attacked he will blame ifti for it and not his stupid captaincy. So fed up with this guy

And this is somethign that Babar has been doing since 2021, no one took notice of it back than, but i used to cry about it here.

 

[Saj]

Always a risk to keep bowling him.

You know sooner or later he will get smashed.

 

[Major]

Always a risk to keep bowling him.

You know sooner or later he will get smashed.

its about how your part timers.

Bowl 5 off of him during the opening PP. And than bring him asap when a wicket falls because the guy coming in is not gonna attack and than keep bowling ur part timer till he doesnt get hit. If you remove your part timer just for the sake of rotation and than bring him back than he will more than likely get hit

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Very similar to Hafeez in the impact he has. Leggies are T20 hacks

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shakib had to take a risk against him sooner or later which he did and got an expensive over for his team. Very well planned over by shakib.

 

[hitthestump]

worlds most stupid captain.

Even now, there are two overs of ifti left and he is not finishing his overs. He will end up leaving his overs in death and than when Ifti gets attacked he will blame ifti for it and not his stupid captaincy. So fed up with this guy

And this is somethign that Babar has been doing since 2021, no one took notice of it back than, but i used to cry about it here.

This is exactly what happened lol

 

[BouncerGuy]

Excellent bowling spell by Iftikhar today against Bangladesh. Apart from that 9th over, he was brilliant. In 10 overs, he gave away just 44 runs and took 1 wicket of Litton Das as well.