Iftikhar Ahmed (cricketer)

Iftikhar Ahmed (Urdu & Pashto: افتخار احمد;[2] born 3 September 1990) is a Pakistani international cricketer. He is in playing-eleven in T20 and ODI format of Pakistan National Cricket Team. In Pakistan Super League, he has previously played for Karachi Kings, Islamabad United and now is in Quetta Gladiators. He made his international debut for the Pakistan cricket team in November 2015.[3]

Iftikhar Ahmed
Personal information
Born (1990-09-03) 3 September 1990
Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
NicknameIfti
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleMiddle-order batter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 221)11 August 2016 v England
Last Test4 March 2022 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 207)13 November 2015 v England
Last ODI27 October 2023 v South Africa
T20I debut (cap 69)4 March 2016 v Sri Lanka
Last T20I17 April 2023 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2010–2015Peshawar Panthers
2011–2018WAPDA
2016, 2019–2020Karachi Kings (squad no. 95)
2017Peshawar Zalmi
2018, 2021Islamabad United (squad no. 95)
2019–2023Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2022–presentQuetta Gladiators (squad no. 95)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I
Matches 4 21 47
Runs scored 61 503 778
Batting average 12.20 45.72 27.78
100s/50s 0/0 1/1 0/4
Top score 27 109* 62*
Balls bowled 206 550 211
Wickets 1 13 4
Bowling average 161.00 39.84 62.5
5 wickets in innings 0 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling 1/1 5/40 1/7
Catches/stumpings 2/– 14/– 15/–
Source: Cricinfo, 10 October 2023

Early life

He was born in Peshawar, Pakistan into a Pashtun family.

He has built a cricket stadium in his home village so the local talent can develop.[4]

Domestic career

He was the leading run-scorer for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 735 runs in eleven matches.[5]

On 27 January 2017, he made 131 not out and took 3 wickets for 12 runs in the final of the 2016–17 Regional One Day Cup. He was jointly named man of the match along with Gauhar Ali.[6][7] He was the leading run-scorer for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 2017 Pakistan Cup, with 244 runs in four matches.[8]

In April 2018, he was named in Sindh's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup.[9][10] In Sindh's opening fixture of the tournament, he scored 116 runs against Balochistan, and was named the man of the match, as Sindh won by 12 runs.[11] He scored the most runs for Sindh during the tournament, with 230 runs in four matches.[12]

He was the leading run-scorer for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 660 runs in seven matches.[13] In March 2019, he was named in Punjab's squad for the 2019 Pakistan Cup.[14][15]

In September 2019, he was named in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's squad for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.[16][17] In October 2021, he led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's successful title defence in the 2021–22 National T20 Cup,[18] and was named both the player of the final and the player of the tournament.[19]

T20 franchise career

In September 2018, he was named in Kandahar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.[20]

In January 2023, while playing for Fortune Barishal in the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League, he hit his maiden T20 century.[21]

International career

He was the top-scorer for Pakistan A in their two-day match against England in October 2015.[22] He made his One Day International debut on 13 November 2015 during the same tour.[23] He made his Test debut against England on 11 August 2016.[24]

He was initially selected in Pakistan's squad for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament, but he was later dropped due to poor form.[25] However, he made his Twenty20 International debut for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in the 2016 Asia Cup on 4 March 2016.[26]

In September 2019, he was included in the 16-man squad for Pakistan's series against Sri Lanka. He was one of three players who were called back to the team.[27] In May 2020, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) awarded him with a central contract ahead of the 2020–21 season.[28][29]

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31] On 1 November 2020, in the second match against Zimbabwe, Iftikhar took his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.[32]

References
  1. Iftikhar Ahmed’s profile on Sportskeeda
  2. "'گندھارا آرٹ دوبارہ زمین میں دفن ہوجائے گی'". 30 May 2020.
  3. "Iftikhar Ahmed". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  4. Mehboob, Atika (20 November 2022). "Iftikhar Ahmed's untold story narrated by his family member". CricWick.
  5. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2017/18: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited Batting and bowlingaverages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  6. "Regional One Day Cup, Final: Karachi Whites v Peshawar at Karachi, Jan 27, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  7. "Gauhar, Iftikhar tons lead Peshawar to title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  8. "Pakistan Cup, 2017 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  9. "Pakistan Cup one-day tournament to begin in Faisalabad next week". Geo TV. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  10. "Pakistan Cup Cricket from 25th". The News International. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  11. "Umar, Iftikhar blast centuries as Sindh edge Balochistan". The News International. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  12. "Pakistan Cup 2018, Sindh: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  13. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2018/19 - Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  14. "Federal Areas aim to complete hat-trick of Pakistan Cup titles". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  15. "Pakistan Cup one-day cricket from April 2". The International News. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  16. "PCB announces squads for 2019-20 domestic season". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  17. "Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam to take charge of Pakistan domestic sides". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  18. "National T20 Cup: Sensational Iftikhar Ahmed leads Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to second successive title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  19. "Iftikhar Ahmed's all-round heroics see Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to successful National T20 title defence". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  20. "Afghanistan Premier League 2018 – All you need to know from the player draft". CricTracker. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  21. "Iftikhar Ahmed creates T20 history in BPL 2023". Geo Super. 19 January 2023. It is worth mentioning here that it was Iftikhar's maiden T20 hundred.
  22. "England tour of United Arab Emirates, Tour Match: England XI v Pakistan A at Sharjah, Oct 5-6, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  23. "England tour of United Arab Emirates, 2nd ODI: England v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Nov 13, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  24. "Pakistan tour of England and Ireland, 4th Investec Test: England v Pakistan at The Oval, Aug 11-15, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  25. "Pakistan pick Manzoor, Raees for WT20". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  26. "Asia Cup, 10th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, Mar 4, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  27. "Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz return to Pakistan's ODI squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  28. "Naseem Shah earns PCB central contract; Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir left out". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  29. "Naseem Shah named in men's central contract list for 2020-21". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  30. "Haider Ali the new face as Pakistan name 29-man touring party for England". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  31. "Haider Ali named in 29-player squad for England tour". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  32. "Five-wicket Iftikhar helps Pakistan bowl Zimbabwe for 206". France24. November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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