Shadab Khan: “Iftikhar tends to struggle a bit against left-arm pace”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan has admitted that big-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed “tends to struggle a bit against left-arm pace”.
Iftikhar used to be a go-to power-hitter in the national team, but has seemingly fallen out of favour with the selectors as he last represented his country in at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Recently, the 34-year-old featured in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and struck 98 runs in eight matches for the Multan Sultans at an average of 19.60 and a strike-rate of 124.05.
“Iftikhar tends to struggle a bit against left-arm pace,” Shadab, who captained Islamabad United in PSL 10, was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After the PSL ended, Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Iftikhar was not part of the squad.
Shadab, however, played in all three games and took four wickets at an average of 16.25 and an economy rate of 7.22.
He also made 55 runs at an average of 27.50 and a strike-rate of 157.14.
Pakistan won the series 3-0.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series:Â Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub