Babar Azam: “That is why we gave him a chance in ODIs because he has been playing great cricket for the last five-six months and we were struggling on those numbers so we are getting a lot of help from Iftikhar and Salman Ali Agha”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket captain, has no regrets about giving power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed a chance to prove his worth in ODIs as he has made full use of the opportunities given to him.
Azam acknowledged that the 32-year-old was doing well in T20Is for five to six months and thus deserved an opportunity to be trialled in the middle order in the 50-over format.
Since Pakistan have been on the lookout for batsmen who can fill those positions, he is glad that Iftikhar is shining.
In the recent five-match ODI series against New Zealand, Iftikhar 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.
In addition to the Peshawar native, Azam praised Salman Ali Agha for his performances in the middle order.
“That is why we gave him a chance in ODIs because he has been playing great cricket for the last five-six months and we were struggling on those numbers so we are getting a lot of help from Iftikhar and Salman Ali Agha,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently led Pakistan in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where he made 76 runs at an average of 25.33. Despite this, the men in green still won the series 2-0.