Umar Akmal: “Iftikhar Ahmed is doing well, and I hope he continues to play in the same manner”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Umar Akmal, the Pakistan middle order batsman, has advised six-hitting powerhouse Iftikhar Ahmed to play his natural game and not make any radical changes.
Iftikhar has become the go-to power-hitter and finisher for Pakistan in limited overs cricket, and has put up a number of impressive performances.
With the men in green likely to stick with him for the foreseeable future, Akmal hopes to see more fireworks from the Peshawar-born 33-year-old.
“Iftikhar Ahmed is doing well, and I hope he continues to play in the same manner,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Iftikhar is currently representing Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has scored 101 runs in five matches, which includes a top score of 40, at an average of 25.25 and a strike-rate of 140.27.
Pakistan won their first two games in the tournament, beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
However, things went downhill for them from there as they suffered three consecutive defeats to India, Australia and Afghanistan.
Pakistan will be back in action on October 27 when they take on South Africa in Chennai.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali