Iftikhar Ahmed: “I call myself a tailender because I bat very low down the [order] for Pakistan. I’m a top order batter in domestic cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Big-hitting batsman Iftikhar Ahmed said he called himself a tailender since he bats “very low down the [order] for Pakistan”.
Iftikhar raised plenty of eyebrows when he described himself as a tailender, especially since he is supposed to be one of the country’s top power-hitters.
Generally, he plays in the lower middle order when playing for the national team, but he stressed that he inflicts the most damage in the top order as he has more time to build his innings.
“I call myself a tailender because I bat very low down the [order] for Pakistan. I’m a top order batter in domestic cricket,” Iftikhar was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 34-year-old was recently in action in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition that took place in Faisalabad.
In the six games he played for the Markhors, he amassed 193 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 38.60.
The Peshawar native is now representing the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in the President’s Cup Grade-I (1-Day) competition and has scored 233 runs in three games, which includes a career-best knock of 154 not out, at an average of 233.
Iftikhar was not selected for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, which they lost 2-0.
He also wasn’t picked for the ongoing three-match Test series against England, where Pakistan find themselves 1-0 down after losing the first Test in Multan by an innings and 47 runs.
The second Test will start on October 15 in Multan.
[TS_Poll id=”69″]