Tag: Iftikhar Ahmad

  • Video: It used to annoy me but now I enjoy it: Iftikhar Ahmed on being called ‘Chachu’

    Video: It used to annoy me but now I enjoy it: Iftikhar Ahmed on being called ‘Chachu’

    Ifitikhar Ahmed is Pakistan’s most reliable middle order batter, and the frequent target of a chant that fans have tailored just for him.

    The batsman was recently asked by a journalist what he felt when fans chant ‘chachu chachu’ (uncle) on the field.

    He answered the question in a very sweet manner, stating:

    “See, first I used to get annoyed when people chant chachu chachu about me but I am now enjoying it. It is not a bad thing, it is not an abusive chant, it is a good thing for me.

    When Shahid Afridi steps into the ground, the crowd immediately stands up and chants boom boom and now they chant chachu chachu, so I really enjoy it.”

    Iftikhar Ahmed also said that wherever he goes to play, the crowd supports him. “Be happy and let me be happy,” he added.
    Ifitkhar Ahmed scored a crucial fifty on the finisher of One-Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand, proving himself as a reliable middle order batter.

    Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, during the post-match press conference, also mentioned feeling embarrassed that Iftikhar is known as ‘Chahcha’ because of his jokes.

    However, despite this feeling, he is happy that people enjoy it.

    Babar also praised Iftikhar’s abilities and acknowledged that he has been playing great cricket for the past few months.

    “Sometimes, I feel embarrassed that due to me Iftikhar is now known as ‘Chacha’ but I am happy that people enjoy it. He gave some brilliant performances in T20 cricket and today he took the game deep alone but unfortunately, he didn’t get support from the other end.

    “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,” Babar said.

  • Afridi, Vince move to Quetta, Azam Khan moves to Islamabad

    Afridi, Vince move to Quetta, Azam Khan moves to Islamabad

    The reports of former captain Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi being moved to Quetta Gladiators were circulating on social media and now the news has been confirmed by the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) page and franchise Quetta Gladiators. It’s going to be the fourth PSL team for the 41-year-old after he last played for the Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans and the Peshawar Zalmi. In the previous edition, he was a part of the Sultans, who won their maiden PSL title under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan.

    For the Gladiators, Afridi is most likely to play under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy. The upcoming edition may well be his last season in the T20 championship. The former Pakistan all-rounder wished to sign off from the PSL after guiding the Gladiators through to title glory.

    “I am excited to join Quetta Gladiators, a side that has had a roller-coaster ride in the past few events despite winning the title in 2019. In my final HBL PSL event, it will my dream and wish to sign off with another HBL PSL trophy after tasting success with Peshawar Zalmi in 2017.

    “HBL PSL is an event that encourages and inspires a player to give his very best. I will use the same motivation to help my team and put in performances that can help us achieve our event objectives,” Afridi said on PSL’s official website.

    Along with Afridi, England’s James Vince has also been traded from the Sultans to the Gladiators. Iftikhar Ahmed, who played for Islamabad United in last edition, will play alongside newly traded Vince and Afridi in the Gladiators.

    Young wicket keeper-batter Azam Khan, who represented the Gladiators last season, will play for United in the upcoming season. The PSL draft is scheduled to take place at the High Performance Centre in Lahore on Sunday, December 12.

  • Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who are currently in a bio-secure bubble for the ICC T20 World Cup and who were also the part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) team, congratulated their team for defending the title and beating Central Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday after Captain Iftikhar Ahmed produced an all-round performance.

    “Huge congratulations to the whole KPK as we have successfully defended our title. We decided in our very first meeting to play like warriors and Alhumdulillah we managed to do that successfully. What a team. What a performance,” wrote Rizwan while congratulating his team.

    Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi also took to Twitter to congratulate their team.

    The KPK captain completed the run chase by smoking Mohammad Faizan for a four through cover on the last ball of the 17th over and unleashed a roar in the Lahore night sky. He bagged the player of the final and the best player of the tournament awards.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 152 for 3 (Iftikhar 45*, Ghulam 37) beat Central Punjab 148 (Shehzad 44, Akmal 42, Iftikhar 3-5, Imran 3-26) by seven wickets

  • NZvPAK: Muhammad Hafeez reinvents himself at 40

    NZvPAK: Muhammad Hafeez reinvents himself at 40

    After his career best performance in second T20I against New Zealand, Hafeez has achieved another milestone, reinventing himself at the age of 40.

    Hafeez who is fondly referred to as ‘Professor’ has achieved a milestone by equalling Shoaib Malik’s 2323 T20I runs for Pakistan. Showing his class, which comes with experience, Hafeez not coming slow at this age.

    Scoring 99 runs and not out in the second T20I against the black caps, Hafeez helped Pakistan win in the third and final match, achieving the most T20I runs scored by a player in the year 2020, that is 415 runs in total.

    Continuing his dream run in the shortest format, Hafeez pumped the New Zealand bowlers for three sixes and two fours in his valuable contribution of 41 runs.

    Hafeez’s departure was followed by Muhammad Rizwan stamping his authority on the proceedings and punishing the bowlers for their wayward lengths.

    Rizwan hit three delightful sixes, all off length deliveries, during his excellent innings and pierced the gaps with surgical precision to take his team closer to the finishing line and got out at 89 in the final over.

    Iftikhar Ahmed sealed the deal with an enormous six that touched the rooftop, stealing a win for Pakistan, beating the Kiwis with four wickets in hand.

    Hafeez took to Twitter and thanked Allah, “Alhamdu Lillah! Allah is the best planner.”

    Hafeez will now come back to Pakistan, while the national side will now face New Zealand in two Test Matches, starting December 26 under Rizwan’s captaincy.

  • PAK v ZIM ODIs: Pakistani bowlers took fifers in each match

    PAK v ZIM ODIs: Pakistani bowlers took fifers in each match

    Three Pakistani bowlers have achieved the maiden five-wicket haul in the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe One Day International (ODIs) matches.

    In the first ODI, Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed the fifer and returned with the figures of 5-49.

    During the second ODI, off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed’s maiden five-wicket haul earned Pakistan a convincing six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second one-day international and 30-year-old Ahmed returned with 5-40.

    Meanwhile, Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain had a day to remember on Tuesday during the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe third ODI in Rawalpindi.

    The 20-year-old picked up five wickets for just 26 runs in his 10-over spell, wreaking havoc to the opponent’s top order. He picked up three wickets in his opening spell, which he shared with Shaheen.

    Today’s game was the first of the series for Hasnain. He finished with figures of 10-3-26-5 as he became the third Pakistani bowler to claim a fifer in back-to-back matches of the ongoing series.

    Apart from the outclass performance by Hasnain, Pakistan lost the match in a Super over scoring only 2 runs on the loss of 2 wickets while Zimbabwe scored 5 runs of 3 balls, winning the match with 3 balls remaining.