Middle-ranking Pakistani batsman Iftikar Ahmed is affectionately known as Chacha Eh cricket in Pakistani cricket circles. The 32-year-old currently plays for Bangladeshi Premier League side Fortune His Barishal and recently recorded his T20 for the first time in a tournament. In a free-flowing conversation with Cricbuzz, Iftikhar discusses his nickname, his frustration at not getting enough chances at Test and ODI, his idol Misbah-ul-Haq, and what he thinks about his potential. I confided in my coach Abdur Rahman, who helped me understand
I feel really good and am enjoying myself. The quality of cricket is very high here, no matter how you describe it, as far as standards are concerned it is low. I’ve played in several leagues, but this is my first time playing in the BPL, and I’m really enjoying it here.
What can help a team succeed in franchise cricket?
A lot depends on team leadership. How strong they are, how strong your captain is and how he protects the environment. I lost the first match, but I still remember what Shakib said after the match. Shakib said the team was one of the best in the tournament. We don’t have to think we’re going to lose the game and go down. We are a good team and will do well. In my opinion the captain plays a big role in creating momentum and so does the management of the team.We play as a family and that is why we are successful. You recently got your first T20hunred on BPL…
Yes, this was a big opportunity for me. Because I’ve always had success with the shortest format over his century.
It’s not easy for a middle-range hitter to score his 100. Roles are usually very different. We usually play a handful of balls or overs at most.
Look, I’ve played 43 of his T20 matches so far. In my opinion, in games 15-16 we had chances, but in other games we either didn’t bat or batted very briefly – 1-3 pitches. Still, even if I play two balls, I will do my best to contribute.
Mentally as a hitter, the more pitches he pitches, the calmer he becomes. But even when I was batting at the net I always went into batting with the attitude that I was in and lost 3-4 wickets.Now I have to do what I need to do.I always batting with the attitude of [trying to figure out] how to line up, always going singles and doubles, because they lost some wickets. And after spending some time, you have to draw some boundaries and make up your mind. Later, as an older player, I think I should hit the last and finish the game. I have always been prepared with this mindset and Allah has always helped me achieve my goals.
You’re only 32 years old, but you’re still active in T20 cricket. But in this country there is always a demand for young talent in the team. what do you think about that
You see, cricket is all about achievement, not age. If you want children under the age of 19, please bring them with you. How many U19 players do you want, or how many U16 players do you want, or how many young players do you want in your team? Because Pakistan is flooded with young cricketers. You have to choose a player to play for you and help him win the game from a certain position. If they want young players, why do Pakistani teams only play young players? Why don’t they play kids under 16? If you look around, you can see that players will be selected after 30 years. Why? See, there’s almost nothing in what people say. But have you heard that there is a section in Pakistan that is always seeking young blood at the expense of experienced activists like you?
Yeah, it makes me sick to hear that. Because I am human. It makes me sick to think what these people are trying to say, but I’m trying to focus on cricket anyway.If I had listened to people, I would have quit cricket ten years ago. There are examples like Shoaib Malik, Misbah [Ul Haq] bhai, Younis [Khan] bhai or all the great players in the world… (In my thirties) How did I get this far? If it was based on what people say, there would have been nothing in this world. I don’t know how to make people happy, and I don’t try to make them happy, so in my career and in my life, people are never happy.
Given that you have very healthy averages in the domestic List A games, do you think you failed to live up to expectations in testing and ODI [average 48.65] and first class [average. 40.46] Are there games? Do you regret not getting enough opportunities?
Talking about my ODI and looking at my innings, I see that most people don’t really understand and keep saying they can’t perform in the ODI. As you can see, I went there to hit 3 or 5 overs. Whenever there is a chance of winning a game for the Alhamdulillah team. In his first seven he won four in one day and was named Most Valuable Player twice. So it’s wrong that it couldn’t perform in other formats. How painful is it to not be able to play in your preferred position when the competition for national team qualifications is so fierce?