Iftikhar Ahmed

In 2023, making what seemed to be his nth comeback to the Pakistan ODI side, offspinner allrounder Iftikhar Ahmed burst into flower with an unbeaten 94 from No. 6 against New Zealand in the fifth ODI (after Pakistan had sealed the series) – though the target of 300 proved a bridge too far for him and his side.Up until then, the lone highlight of Iftikhar’s white-ball international career had been his 5 for 40 against Zimbabwe in his sixth match, in 2020, which came five years after his first.Two games on from that Karachi ODI against New Zealand, he made his first hundred in the format, in a partnership of 214 runs with Babar Azam against Nepal in the Asia Cup, and chased it up with a 47 against Sri Lanka later in the tournament. That fetched him a place in the side that went to India for the World Cup – where he did not do much of note, much like the Pakistan side as a whole.On the other hand, he made two fifties (against South Africa and India) and played all seven games in Pakistan’s run to the T20 World Cup final the year before.His first Test came against England at The Oval in 2016, where Pakistan won to draw the series, after memorably making 542 in the first innings – though Iftikhar himself was not among those who cashed in on the batting bonanza.On the 2019 tour of Australia, he top-scored for Pakistan in two of the three T20Is he played, but the home side won both.By quirks of scheduling and selection, Iftikhar played 15 T20Is in a row against New Zealand, home and away, over a year starting in April 2023.Iftikhar Ahmed, a Pakistani cricket stalwart, known for his explosive right-handed batting and powerful cover drives, a key contributor to Pakistan’s batting lineup.