Salman Butt: “Iftikhar, I don’t know maybe there is definitely something to do with the reflexes because at his age, you have to be super fit or otherwise your movements, they get slow”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes it’s possible that big-hitting batsman Iftikhar Ahmed’s reflexes are slowing down.
He noted that Iftikhar is 33 years old and needs to be “super fit” in order to keep succeeding at the international level.
While he is unsure why “things have gone slower” for the Peshawar native, Salman pointed out that Pakistan have to keep picking him as “there are very limited options” for cricketers that fall into his category.
“Iftikhar, I don’t know maybe there is definitely something to do with the reflexes because at his age, you have to be super fit or otherwise your movements, they get slow. He is not a very young chap, he is quite an experienced player,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
“He has been playing cricket for a long time, he has played domestic for so long. He made his debut for Pakistan in 2016 and it is 2024 now. So maybe his fitness and time, as he has spent a lot of time [playing cricket], things have gone slower for him and there are very limited options.”
Iftikhar recently played for Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and was restricted to 23 runs in two games at an average of 11.50 and a strike-rate of 100.
The men in green kicked off their campaign with consecutive losses to the United States of America and India before rebounding to beat Canada and Ireland.
Despite triumphing in their last two group stage matches, the men in green were unable to book their spot in the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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