Mohammad Hafeez: “Most importantly, he’s a complete batsman”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Mohammad Hafeez firmly believes that Pakistan power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed is “a complete batsman”.
The 32-year-old has become a regular member of Pakistan’s T20I side, but has recently been utilised in ODIs as well.
This was evident during the limited overs series against New Zealand, where Iftikhar began by hammering 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 native then scored 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.
“Most importantly, he’s a complete batsman,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Iftikhar wasn’t picked for Pakistan’s ongoing two-Test series against Sri Lanka, in which they hold a 1-0 lead after securing a four-wicket win in the first Test in Galle.
The second Test got underway in Colombo on Monday.
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