Kamran Akmal: “Iftikhar won’t save you in every match”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Kamran Akmal, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman, said big-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed can’t save Pakistan every time and called on the other batsmen in the team to start stepping up.
The men in green have a tendency to rely on a few particular players, such as captain Babar Azam, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
However, with Iftikhar having become the national team’s go-to power-hitter, Akmal pointed out that the 32-year-old will be hit and miss due to the aggressive style of cricket he will play.
“Iftikhar won’t save you in every match,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Iftikhar recently featured in Pakistan’s limited overs series against New Zealand, where he amassed 129 runs in five T20Is, which included a top score of 60, at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 195.45.
He followed that up with 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.
Iftikhar was not picked for Pakistan’s upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which will be played in Galle and Colombo from July 16 to 28.
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