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[VIDEOS] Why can't we get the best out of Iftikhar Ahmed?

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Saj

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I don't think there are too many cleaner hitters of a cricket ball in Pakistan cricket than Iftikhar Ahmed, yet time and again we see him struggle to perfrom for Pakistan.

However he looks a different player in domestic T20 cricket as we are seeing in the BPL where in 3 out of his last 4 innings he has scored:

56* off 34 balls
100* off 45 balls
57* off 26 balls

Why aren't we geeting the best out of him?

Is he a domestic bully?
Overrated?
Not good enough for the highest level of cricket?
Just unlucky?
Not utlised properly?
 
Because we have a pathetic mindset as a team

We have two anchors opening for us who don’t do any hard work

They expect everyone else to score 50s off the 10-15 balls that are left for them to play with
 
Pakistan cricket plays the worst brand of T20 cricket. It’s appallingly rubbish

1. Rizwan
2. Babar
3. Shan Masood

The mindset is negative and defensive. Until the mindset doesn’t change, stop targeting other players who can actually play hard cricket but are bogged down because of this rubbish, defensive mindset!
 
Though he claims to be 32 its a open secret that he is atleast 5 years older. So blooding in a 37 year old in ODI or Test Cricket is not an option. He can still continue in t20s until next WC if his form stays true. Cannot expect much more from him.
 
ex-q-zit said:
Though he claims to be 32 its a open secret that he is atleast 5 years older. So blooding in a 37 year old in ODI or Test Cricket is not an option. He can still continue in t20s until next WC if his form stays true. Cannot expect much more from him.
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It's a problem that's systemic within Pakistan cricket, when we're trying to get the best out of players or trying to "blood" them in when they're close to retirement age or in some cases well past it.
 
If we are looking for PCB to help players with professional help - this is the guy!

Get a good coach for him and make him deliver in international games.
 
ex-q-zit said:
Though he claims to be 32 its a open secret that he is atleast 5 years older. So blooding in a 37 year old in ODI or Test Cricket is not an option. He can still continue in t20s until next WC if his form stays true. Cannot expect much more from him.
Click to expand...

It's a problem that's systemic within Pakistan cricket, when we're trying to get the best out of players or trying to "blood" them in when they're close to retirement age or in some cases well past it.
 
MenInG said:
If we are looking for PCB to help players with professional help - this is the guy!

Get a good coach for him and make him deliver in international games.
Click to expand...

Also tell the 110-125 strike rate top 3 to step up and do some proper work too!
 
These are very low level competitions. BPL is a few levels below international standard of cricket. It’s a whole different animal replicating these sort of performances when you face England, Australia or India in Australia for the world t20. (But even then, he wasn’t too bad in the world t20, nothing game changing though)
 
His place in the team is not confirmed. Whenever he is given a game, I feel he plays too tentatively to reduce the risk of failure.

He needs to be given more assurance of his place so that he can express himself.

Similarly, if Babar and Rizwan anchor 15 overs in a T20 game, it adds too much pressure for the remaining batsmen to play a miracle innings.
 
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He bats a bit too low down the order and has been pigeon holed as a finisher.

In my opinion he should be given a chance up the order to set the pace of the game for Pakistan.

Asking him to bat in different batting positions and under extreme scoreboard pressure doesn't suit his game.

In LOIs he should be number 3 and in Tests he should be given the armband.
 
What ifti suppose to do when he comes in 15th over and the required run rate is 15 an over
Blame your top order
 
Concerned said:
His place in the team is not confirmed. Whenever he is given a game, I feel he plays too tentatively to reduce the risk of failure.

He needs to be given more assurance of his place so that he can express himself.

Similarly, if Babar and Rizwan anchor 15 overs in a T20 game, it adds too much pressure for the remaining batsmen to play a miracle innings.
Click to expand...

This is the exact reason. He is not given confidence by the team as he is not assured of his place.
 
Saj said:
I don't think there are too many cleaner hitters of a cricket ball in Pakistan cricket than Iftikhar Ahmed, yet time and again we see him struggle to perfrom for Pakistan.

However he looks a different player in domestic T20 cricket as we are seeing in the BPL where in 3 out of his last 4 innings he has scored:

56* off 34 balls
100* off 45 balls
57* off 26 balls

Why aren't we geeting the best out of him?

Is he a domestic bully?
Overrated?
Not good enough for the highest level of cricket?
Just unlucky?
Not utlised properly?
Click to expand...

You didn’t see his innings in the World Cup against India or South Africa??
 
Seems better when there's pace on the ball. He struggled against spin on slow, stopping pitches in PAK.

However I agree the way our openers bat they put too much pressure on the middle order to go big from ball one.
 
Too much time on the sidelines for years and starting out late. Team mindset is also one reason he doesn't look the Iftikhar he is. He literally has a complete game for LOIs for no.4-5.

But for some reason seems switched off majority of the time. If he was in English team, he would be doing much better because he has all the tools to win matches. In modern cricket, it's not about the runs you make or the wickets you take in LOIs, it's about how many matches you win for your team.

He does seem like a guy with a good humor and someone who doesn't take online bullying and trolling seriously.
 
Officer Barbrady said:
You didn’t see his innings in the World Cup against India or South Africa??
Click to expand...

Yes watched them.

But the question isn't about a good innings now and then, it's why can't we get the best out of him consistently.
 
:ifticool

A monster bat.

He needs to come up the order. Rizwan, Shan and to some extent Babar are terrible terrrible as the T20/ODI top order.

They consume too many balls with too little output, and then hope that Ifti etc. will go all guns blazing from ball one when only a few overs are left.

Ifti needs to be given full assurance of selection for the next 15-20 matches.

At a position that makes sense for him. Number 3 to 4 max.

Also, he has done quite good in internationals already. He's a proven performer.
 
He can potentially play the Hafeez role in ODI team if his batting clicks. Pak can only go with one of Ifti or Haris Sohail in ODI team thus must bite bullet quickly as to which horse to back for the World Cup and give full exposure
 
Markhor said:
Seems better when there's pace on the ball. He struggled against spin on slow, stopping pitches in PAK.

However I agree the way our openers bat they put too much pressure on the middle order to go big from ball one.
Click to expand...

Ifti has been around for long enough that this isn't a valid excuse now. Yes the openers have performed, but there have been plenty of times where they haven't and Ifti hasn't managed to do a job. Outside of Australia he has had plenty of chances and mostly fluffed them.

He is unreal in domestics so i'm guessing it's a mental block at international level, maybe similar to Ramprakash.
 
pratiktc said:
He can potentially play the Hafeez role in ODI team if his batting clicks. Pak can only go with one of Ifti or Haris Sohail in ODI team thus must bite bullet quickly as to which horse to back for the World Cup and give full exposure
Click to expand...

I'd say Ifti and Agha Salman are competing for a spot, the number 6.

Haris is probably competing with Sarfaraz, Kamran Ghulam type players who will be specialist bats and not expected to bowl.

Pakistan need a solid 6th bowler, both Agha and Ifti can do a job here.
 
It is hard to be consistent in T20I cricket. Especially at the number Iftikhar usually bats in. I want to see Iftikhar bat at Number 4 or 5 in ODIS. He is a murderer of spin bowling and can do the job for us at the World Cup.
 
Not utilized properly. One day he is batting in top order and the other day the in lower order. PCB is terrible at handling of players
 
Saj said:
I don't think there are too many cleaner hitters of a cricket ball in Pakistan cricket than Iftikhar Ahmed, yet time and again we see him struggle to perfrom for Pakistan.

However he looks a different player in domestic T20 cricket as we are seeing in the BPL where in 3 out of his last 4 innings he has scored:

56* off 34 balls
100* off 45 balls
57* off 26 balls

Why aren't we geeting the best out of him?

Is he a domestic bully?
Overrated?
Not good enough for the highest level of cricket?
Just unlucky?
Not utlised properly?
Click to expand...

One must look into the quality of bowling he has faced
 
From watching it’s clear he is batting with great confidence, but the bowling is shocking.

We all know Haris can go for a few, it’s all about timing and form. Iftikhar unlike Asif or Kushdil has at least performed.
 
Iftikhar Ahmed c A Blake b Nasir Hossain 10(10) in the 31st Match of BPL
 
He is always set up to fail.
They need to build his confidence. Captain/management needs to stand up to the journalists and say we're gonna give him a decent run because he is the best in the country.
This will ease him up.
If it was some other person, 50s against India and SAF in the WC would already have propelled his name into potential captains.
 
Saj said:
I don't think there are too many cleaner hitters of a cricket ball in Pakistan cricket than Iftikhar Ahmed, yet time and again we see him struggle to perfrom for Pakistan.

However he looks a different player in domestic T20 cricket as we are seeing in the BPL where in 3 out of his last 4 innings he has scored:

56* off 34 balls
100* off 45 balls
57* off 26 balls

Why aren't we geeting the best out of him?

Is he a domestic bully?
Overrated?
Not good enough for the highest level of cricket?
Just unlucky?
Not utlised properly?
Click to expand...

Players like him, Khushdil and Asif are good only for low level domestic leagues , not made for international cricket. And, Iftikhar is too old now with slow reflexes to perform well at international level.
 
10, 13, 17 - last 3 scores.

A couple of good scores then a run of low scores seems to be the Ifthi way.
 
Iftikhar's best days were back in the 90s, but it would have been hard for him to usurp all the superstars that were playing for us then.
 
Salman4. said:
He is always set up to fail.
They need to build his confidence. Captain/management needs to stand up to the journalists and say we're gonna give him a decent run because he is the best in the country.
This will ease him up.
If it was some other person, 50s against India and SAF in the WC would already have propelled his name into potential captains.
Click to expand...

It's not like his age fudging is a secret. We aren't going to bank on giving a 39-40 year old a 'run of games' to build confidence.
 
Some posters here are suggesting that he is close to 40 while someone even mentioned that he is 45-50. What's the proof? His domestic debut came in 2010-11 when he was 20 (officially), which isnt very young age for a domestic debutante.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
Some posters here are suggesting that he is close to 40 while someone even mentioned that he is 45-50. What's the proof? His domestic debut came in 2010-11 when he was 20 (officially), which isnt very young age for a domestic debutante.
Click to expand...

I have heard that when he made his test debut he was considered to be 33.
 
I used to be a doubter, but he looks like a million bucks in Australia far more often than most of our recent batsmen since the turn of the century. That’s enough to earn respect when you put in perspective Pakistan’s present and recent batting talent. Not a complete surprise though given how good he is square of the wicket. If we are brimming with aggressive young batsmen, let one of them displace him in the team then.

Ofc he has weaknesses. But one of the few batsmen currently not afraid to get his hands dirty. Has that subtle boldness and confidence that many of our players lack save for Shaheen, Naseem, M Harris (where was this guy in the recent LOI series?!) and Shadab.
 
Beast mode alert for Iftikhar at BPL today

41*(27) for Barishal vs Khulna
 
51* from 31 today against the Khulna Tigers. Hit 3 sixes and 3 fours
 
He seems to be a bit of a mental midget at times.

Beast against mediocre bowling with a few exceptions (SA) was a real poor let down in the World Cup final.
 
The quality of cricket, pitches etc. at the BPL is extremely low. Can't rate someone for performing there .
 
IftiMania...

FoDYrL1aAAEuzvB
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">From <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dhaka?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dhaka</a>, on my way to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quetta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quetta</a> for the Exhibition match arranged by <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealPCB</a> between <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamQuetta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamQuetta</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/PeshawarZalmi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeshawarZalmi</a>. I believe this is a great initiative to give an opportunity to the people of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Balochistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Balochistan</a> to watch their favourite cricketers compete. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IftiMania?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IftiMania</a> <a href="https://t.co/1f3Kv54Sqb">pic.twitter.com/1f3Kv54Sqb</a></p>— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiAhmed221) <a href="https://twitter.com/IftiAhmed221/status/1621562322446680067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Highlights including Ifti 50

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/zcz026" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
I think his a handy bowler too for T20s needs to be given more overs and if he bowls well it will reflect on his batting as he will slightly less pressure.
 
He’s someone who literally wears the stress on his face when he’s about to come in to bat. If he could somehow get into the mode, where he truly enjoys his cricket, rather than fearing failure…
 
Saj said:
I don't think there are too many cleaner hitters of a cricket ball in Pakistan cricket than Iftikhar Ahmed, yet time and again we see him struggle to perfrom for Pakistan.

However he looks a different player in domestic T20 cricket as we are seeing in the BPL where in 3 out of his last 4 innings he has scored:

56* off 34 balls
100* off 45 balls
57* off 26 balls

Why aren't we geeting the best out of him?

Is he a domestic bully?
Overrated?
Not good enough for the highest level of cricket?
Just unlucky?
Not utlised properly?
Click to expand...

The dude was useless against Adil Rasheed in the WC final n lost us the game. I hold him solely responsible FOR NOT EVEN TRYING to hit a boundary. Literally, go take a look at those 5 dot balls and the sixth ball that he got out on. That was an utter shame.

His “clean hitting” goes into hibernation against quality bowling in important and pressure games.

This recent spree of hitting in BPL is probably a last few hot flashes in the pan when you consider his age.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
6 sixes in a row by Iftikhar Ahmed in the final over against Wahab Riaz!!

kWrEZ9g.png
 
Quetta might actually be favourites this year due to Ifti’s form
 
Hitting six 6s in an over to a 140+ bowler isn't ordinary. He is much more than a domestic bully. He's worked hard and now reaping the rewards.
 
The six sixes

:ifticool

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 45.028%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/089y3p" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Chacha should be allowed to play his natural game for pakistan enough of this "taking it deep" ** from the captain
 
emranabbas said:
Chacha should be allowed to play his natural game for pakistan enough of this "taking it deep" ** from the captain
Click to expand...

For that you need to reshuffle the entire line up that is set up to suit two players at the top

Babar and Rizwan can’t open
 
Horrible video quality of the exhibition match. An old iphone would make a better video.
 
Good outing with the ball too, 2/19 from 3 overs so far
 
His 6 sixes:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/1fqrsx" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Ifti buried the interim sports minister with this onslaught.

What a player. Ifti mania has captured the world's imagination.
 
Few more deliveries and it was a guaranteed century… but the century didn’t deserve him.

:ifticool

PK should play him as a batting all rounder, would also take off the extra psychological pressure of being "the finisher" and other clichés roles so he’d be easy in his natural game.
 
LOL, well executed but context - its a past its sell by date bowler who used to be a spray gun now sporting a huge belly bowling lollipops.
 
Give Iftikhar Ahmed the Number 4 spot in the ODI team and give him a run of 5 matches. I am sure he will translate his domestic performances to International as well.
 
Riaz should stick to minister job. Must be feeling humiliated. He is no Stuart Broad to turn it around and have a spectacular career from here on.
 
Got a 0 in the WC final when he came in at a comfortable position. Not a big occasion player
 
Sher Khan said:
Give Iftikhar Ahmed the Number 4 spot in the ODI team and give him a run of 5 matches. I am sure he will translate his domestic performances to International as well.
Click to expand...

Bilkul. He has been mishandled in T20s and been pigeonholed as a slogger.

Let him play the Asia cup and WC number 3 or number 4 and a few overs with the ball.

He can bat deep and score big to win us these trophies.

Ifti mania will really take off this year.
 
asadee said:
Got a 0 in the WC final when he came in at a comfortable position. Not a big occasion player
Click to expand...

Yet you conveniently forget the other 'big' WC matches where he batted brilliantly.

And the likes of Rizwan were absolute failures.
 
Hawkeye said:
Yet you conveniently forget the other 'big' WC matches where he batted brilliantly.

And the likes of Rizwan were absolute failures.
Click to expand...

They remember what they want

In our must win game against SA, where was Rizwan, Babar and Shan Masood?? Back in the dug out putting grips on their Gray Nichols bats!
 
I heard Ifthikar is getting a pay hike and coming back to his BPL team for their important games.
 
Sher Khan said:
Give Iftikhar Ahmed the Number 4 spot in the ODI team and give him a run of 5 matches. I am sure he will translate his domestic performances to International as well.
Click to expand...

Based on what?

This is nothing new. Ifti toys with the bowling at domestic level and then flops at international level.

The guy is a 40 year old masquerading as a 32 year old. He is not new to the scene. We can extrapolate he has already reached his ceiling.

He'll remain a domestic bully everywhere except Australia, where for some reason we do see glimpses of the domestic Ifti.
 
BDfanforever said:
I heard Ifthikar is getting a pay hike and coming back to his BPL team for their important games.
Click to expand...

I'd be surprised given the PSL is around the corner.

But anything is possible in Pakistan cricket at the moment.
 
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