Iftikhar Ahmed (Chacha)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Iftikhar Ahmed

• Iftikhar Ahmed is a Pakistani cricketer who became popular for his explosive power in hitting big sixes. He established himself as one of the most aggressive batsmen in international cricket during the early 2020s.

• He liked playing cricket from a young age and later became a professional cricketer.

• On 5 May 2010, he played in his first two-day match for Nowshehra against Lower Dir in the Inter-District Senior Tournament 2010, scoring 56 runs. On 17 July 2008, he played his first three-day match for Federally Administered Areas in the Inter-District Senior Tournament 2008-09, scoring 44 runs.

  

• On 18 October 2011, he played his first-ever first-class match for Peshawar, during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2011-12, scoring 37 runs in the first innings. On 12 October 2014, he debuted for the Water and Power Development Authority in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2014-15, where he scored 74 runs in the first innings.

  

• On 1 October 2016, he made his first appearance for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2016-17, scoring 127 runs in the first innings and 10 runs in the second innings. On 14 September 2019, he debuted for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20, scoring 35 runs in the first innings.

  

• On 27 February 2012, he played his first List A match for Peshawar Panthers, during the One Day National Cup Division Two Tournament 2011-12, scoring 17 runs. On 5 April 2013, he debuted for the Water and Power Development Authority, in the President’s Cup One Day Tournament 2012-13, where he scored 18 runs.

• On 31 December 2014, he made his debut for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters in the Pentangular Cup One Day Tournament 2014-15, contributing 11 runs. On 28 December 2017, he debuted for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, in the One Day Cup for Departments 2017-18, where he scored 68 runs. On 25 January 2018, he played his first match for Rawalpindi regions, in the One Day Cup for Regions Tournament 2017-18, scoring 61 runs.

  

• On 27 April 2018, he debuted for Sindh, in the Pakistan Cup 2017-18, scoring 116 runs. On 2 April 2019, he played his first match for Punjab, in the Pakistan Cup 2018-19, where he scored 54 runs.

• On 12 October 2010, he played his T20 debut for Peshawar Panthers, in the National T20 Cup 2010-11, where he made 9 runs. On 26 August 2016, he debuted for the Peshawar Region, in the National T20 Cup 2016-17, scoring 17 runs. On 12 November 2017, he played his debut match for Rawalpindi Region, in the National T20 Cup 2017-18, where he made 2 runs.

  

• On 10 December 2018, he played his first match for Islamabad Region in the National T20 Cup 2018-19, scoring 1 run. On 13 October 2019, he made his debut for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the National T20 Cup 2019-20. He also represented Pakistan Shaheens during their tour to New Zealand in December 2020.

  

• On 29 October 2018, he debuted in Test cricket for Pakistan-A, against Australia, scoring 4 runs in the first innings and 45 runs in the second innings. On 12 October 2018, he made his T20 debut for Pakistan A against New Zealand A, contributing 26 runs.

  

• On 16 December 2014, he made his one-day debut for Pakistan-A, against Kenya at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, where he scored 12 runs. He also played against New Zealand A in 2018.

• On 30 August 2023, he scored his first ODI century with a knock of 109 runs against Nepal during the 2023 Asia Cup. On 1 November 2020, he achieved his maiden ODI 5-wicket haul against Zimbabwe, taking 5 wickets for 40 runs.

  

• On 5 November 2019, he made his maiden T20I fifty with 62 runs against Australia. He made his T20 World Cup debut during the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia. In 7 matches, he scored 114 runs with a strike rate of 122.58, achieving 2 half-centuries. One of those half-centuries was against India, where he scored 51 runs off 34 balls, and the other was against South Africa, where he scored 51 runs off 35 balls.

  

• On 5 February 2016, he started his Pakistan Super League (PSL) journey by playing his debut match for Karachi Kings, during the first season of the PSL. On 9 February 2017, he played his debut match for Peshawar Zalmi in the 2017 PSL season and helped them win the tournament. In the 2020 PSL season, he represented Karachi Kings again and contributed to their tournament victory. He represented Islamabad United in 2021 and Quetta Gladiators in both the 2022 and 2023 PSL seasons.

  

• On 6 December 2022, Iftikhar Ahmed made his debut for the Galle Gladiators in the 2022 Lanka Premier League (LPL) season. For the 2023 LPL season, he was acquired by the Colombo Strikers for $50,000.

  

• In the 2022 Shpageeza Cricket League held in Kabul, Afghanistan, Iftikhar Ahmed played for Mis Ainak Knights.

  

• In the 2022 Abu Dhabi T10 League, Iftikhar Ahmed represented the Bangla Tigers.

  

• In the 2023 Global T20 Canada League, he played for the Surrey Jaguars and also served as the team’s captain.

  

• Iftikhar Ahmed played for Fortune Barishal in the 2023 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season. On 19 January 2023, he made his first T20 century by scoring 100 runs not out against Rangpur Riders.

  

• Iftikhar Ahmed was signed by Kandahar Knights for the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League (APL) season, but he was not permitted to participate in the tournament by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

• In March 2023, Iftikhar Ahmed was granted a Golden Visa for Dubai.

  

• Before the match against India in the 2023 Asia Cup, there were tweets going around claiming that Iftikhar said in an interview that the Indian team was much weaker than the Pakistan team, and it’s like playing against kids when they face India. Iftikhar later posted on Twitter to clear up the confusion, saying he never actually made those comments.

• Iftikhar shared the story behind his nickname ‘Chacha-e-Cricket’ in an interview. He explained that during a match against Zimbabwe in 2020, he was asking Babar Azam to change the field positions while he was bowling to Brendan Taylor. Initially, Babar didn’t make the changes, but after repeated requests, he finally did. Interestingly, Iftikhar then got Taylor out, caught by the same fielder. Babar playfully called him ‘Chacha-e-cricket’ as a joke, and this moment became popular. Iftikhar mentioned that even his own son now calls him by that nickname.

  

• On 5 February 2023, Iftikhar hit 6 sixes in the final over bowled by Wahab Riaz during an exhibition PSL match for Quetta Gladiators against Peshawar Zalmi. Renowned Pakistani player Shahid Afridi praised Iftikhar and referred to him as ‘Boom Boom.’ ^[2]The Tribune

• There have been controversies about Iftikhar’s age as many fans have raised doubts about his real age, with some suggesting that he might be older than his official age.

• Iftikhar Ahmed frequently uses the word ‘Bhai’ (meaning ‘brother’ in English) in his conversations. He is known for his interactions with fellow Pakistani players under the hashtag #IftiMania.

• He has constructed a stadium in his village to support underprivileged children