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Iftikhar Ahmed (Urdu & Pashto: افتخار احمد; born 3 September 1990) is a Pakistani international cricketer. In Pakistan Super League, he has previously played for Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators and he will now represent Multan Sultans during HBL PSL Season 9. He made his international debut for the Pakistan cricket team in November 2015.

Early life

He was born in Peshawar, Pakistan into a Pashtun family.

He has built a cricket stadium in his home village so the local talent can develop.

Domestic career

He was the leading run-scorer for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 735 runs in eleven matches.

On 27 January 2017, he made 131 not out and took 3 wickets for 12 runs in the final of the 2016–17 Regional One Day Cup. He was jointly named man of the match along with Gauhar Ali. He was the leading run-scorer for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 2017 Pakistan Cup, with 244 runs in four matches.

In April 2018, he was named in Sindh's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup. In Sindh's opening fixture of the tournament, he scored 116 runs against Balochistan, and was named the man of the match, as Sindh won by 12 runs. He scored the most runs for Sindh during the tournament, with 230 runs in four matches.

He was the leading run-scorer for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 660 runs in seven matches. In March 2019, he was named in Punjab's squad for the 2019 Pakistan Cup.

In September 2019, he was named in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's squad for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament. In October 2021, he led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's successful title defence in the 2021–22 National T20 Cup, and was named both the player of the final and the player of the tournament.

T20 franchise career

In September 2018, he was named in Kandahar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.

In January 2023, while playing for Fortune Barishal in the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League, he hit his maiden T20 century.

In Season 9 of HBL PSL Iftikhar will be the part of Multan Sultans.

International career

He was the top-scorer for Pakistan A in their two-day match against England in October 2015. He made his One Day International debut on 13 November 2015 during the same tour. He made his Test debut against England on 11 August 2016.

He was initially selected in Pakistan's squad for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament, but he was later dropped due to poor form. However, he made his Twenty20 International debut for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in the 2016 Asia Cup on 4 March 2016.

In September 2019, he was included in the 16-man squad for Pakistan's series against Sri Lanka. He was one of three players who were called back to the team. In May 2020, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) awarded him with a central contract ahead of the 2020–21 season.

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 November 2020, in the second match against Zimbabwe, Iftikhar took his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.

In May 2024, he was named in Pakistan’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.

References

1. Iftikhar Ahmed’s profile on Sportskeeda
2. "'گندھارا آرٹ دوبارہ زمین میں دفن ہوجائے گی'". 30 May 2020.
3. "Iftikhar Ahmed". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
4. Mehboob, Atika (20 November 2022). "Iftikhar Ahmed's untold story narrated by his family member". CricWick.
5. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2017/18: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited Batting and bowlingaverages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
6. "Regional One Day Cup, Final: Karachi Whites v Peshawar at Karachi, Jan 27, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
7. "Gauhar, Iftikhar tons lead Peshawar to title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
8. "Pakistan Cup, 2017 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
9. "Pakistan Cup one-day tournament to begin in Faisalabad next week". Geo TV. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
10. "Pakistan Cup Cricket from 25th". The News International. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
11. "Umar, Iftikhar blast centuries as Sindh edge Balochistan". The News International. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
12. "Pakistan Cup 2018, Sindh: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
13. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2018/19 - Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
14. "Federal Areas aim to complete hat-trick of Pakistan Cup titles". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
15. "Pakistan Cup one-day cricket from April 2". The International News. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
16. "PCB announces squads for 2019-20 domestic season". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
17. "Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam to take charge of Pakistan domestic sides". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
18. "National T20 Cup: Sensational Iftikhar Ahmed leads Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to second successive title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
19. "Iftikhar Ahmed's all-round heroics see Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to successful National T20 title defence". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
20. "Afghanistan Premier League 2018 – All you need to know from the player draft". CricTracker. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
21. "Iftikhar Ahmed creates T20 history in BPL 2023". Geo Super. 19 January 2023. It is worth mentioning here that it was Iftikhar's maiden T20 hundred.
22. "Multan Sultans Squad 2024 – MS Team, Captain, Coach complete detail". Sports fista. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
23. "England tour of United Arab Emirates, Tour Match: England XI v Pakistan A at Sharjah, Oct 5-6, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
24. "England tour of United Arab Emirates, 2nd ODI: England v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Nov 13, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
25. "Pakistan tour of England and Ireland, 4th Investec Test: England v Pakistan at The Oval, Aug 11-15, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
26. "Pakistan pick Manzoor, Raees for WT20". ESPN Cricinfo. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
27. "Asia Cup, 10th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, Mar 4, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
28. "Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz return to Pakistan's ODI squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
29. "Naseem Shah earns PCB central contract; Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir left out". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
30. "Naseem Shah named in men's central contract list for 2020-21". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
31. "Haider Ali the new face as Pakistan name 29-man touring party for England". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
32. "Haider Ali named in 29-player squad for England tour". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
33. "Five-wicket Iftikhar helps Pakistan bowl Zimbabwe for 206". France24. November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
34. "Pakistan Squad for ICC Men's T20I World Cup 2024". ScoreWaves. Retrieved 11 June 2024.

External links

• Iftikhar Ahmed at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan squads

v t e Pakistan squad – 2022 Men's T20 World Cup – Runners-up 7 Shadab (vc) 10 Shaheen 16 Rizwan (wk) 21 Nawaz 29 Haris 45 A. Ali 46 H. Ali 56 Babar (c) 71 Naseem 72 Khushdil 74 Wasim 87 Hasnain 94 Masood 95 Iftikhar 97 Rauf Coach: Saqlain Mushtaq Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir as standby players for the team. v t e Pakistan squad – 2023 Cricket World Cup 7 Shadab (vc) 10 Shaheen 16 Rizwan (wk) 21 Nawaz 24 Mir 26 Imam 32 Hasan 39 Fakhar 56 Babar (c) 57 Shafique 59 Shakeel 67 Agha 74 Wasim Jr. 95 Iftikhar 97 Rauf Coach: Grant Bradburn Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris and Zaman Khan were named as reserve players. v t e Pakistan squad – 2024 Men's T20 World Cup 5 Amir 7 Shadab 9 Imad 10 Shaheen 16 Rizwan (wk) 39 Fakhar 55 Abbas 56 Babar (c) 63 Ayub 71 Naseem 77 Azam (wk) 78 Usman (wk) 95 Iftikhar 97 Rauf Coach: Gary Kirsten Abrar Ahmed as reserve player for the team.

• 1990 births
• Living people
• Pashtun cricketers
• Pakistani cricketers
• Pakistan Test cricketers
• Pakistan One Day International cricketers
• Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers
• 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen
• Cricketers from Peshawar
• Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited cricketers
• Islamabad United cricketers
• Karachi Kings cricketers
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricketers
• Peshawar Zalmi cricketers
• Quetta Gladiators cricketers
• Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in Afghanistan