Shoaib Akhtar: “Iftikhar Ahmed is Misbah part two”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan pace icon Shoaib Akhtar believes that big-hitting batsman Iftikhar Ahmed is “part two” of former captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
Akhtar has frequently criticised Misbah, especially during his tenure as Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector.
Iftikhar, meanwhile, has become a regular face in the T20I team and recently featured in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
In the seven matches he played, the 32-year-old scored 114 runs, which included a top score of 51, at an average of 22.80 and a strike-rate of 122.58.
He also took one wicket at an average of 28.
While Akhtar stopped short of lambasting Iftikhar about anything, he did say the batsman is the second version of Misbah.
“Iftikhar Ahmed is Misbah part two,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricwick.
Pakistan are coming off a dismal 3-0 Test series loss to England and will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they go up against New Zealand in two Tests and three ODIs.
The first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand will start on Monday in Karachi.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand Test Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Zahid Mahmood
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