Pakistan batsman Iftikhar Ahmed: “In domestic cricket, I always play at fourth spot. Because I like to take my time when I play. I take some time to get set, read the surface and then try to go for the boundaries”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iftikhar Ahmed, the Pakistan six-hitting powerhouse, said he enjoys batting at number four and always does so when playing domestic cricket.
While he generally bats in the middle order for Pakistan, he noted that he prefers batting a little higher up the order since it gives him time to get his eye in and assess the conditions.
Once he gets comfortable at the crease, he starts to heat up and looks to score plenty of boundaries.
“In domestic cricket, I always play at fourth spot. Because I like to take my time when I play. I take some time to get set, read the surface and then try to go for the boundaries,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick. “So personally, I like the fourth spot.”
In Pakistan’s recent limited overs series against New Zealand, the 32-year-old scored 129 runs in five T20Is, which included a top score of 60, at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 195.45.
The Peshawar-born batsman then proceeded to amass 122 runs in two ODIs, which included a top score of 94 not out, at an average of 122 and a strike-rate of 129.78.
Pakistan will now go up against Sri Lanka in a two-Test series from July 16 to 28, but Iftikhar wasn’t selected in the squad.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood