Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmed has been in scintillating form in the sixth season of Abu Dhabi T10. Iftikhar, who turns out for the Bangla Tigers scored a superb 49 and then an unbeaten 83 from 30 deliveries. The first unfortunately was in a losing cause while the second earned his side a much-needed win and saw him pick up the Player of the Match award.
For Iftikhar, it is all about building momentum in the shorter format of the game. He said, “In T10 cricket, the thing is one needs to have momentum on their side and once that’s done you can push on.”
However, Iftikhar believes while the cricket calendar is quite hectic nowadays, but explained that they are professionals trained for this.
“Yes, nowadays, we are playing a lot of cricket and I have also just played the T20 World Cup before coming here to the Abu Dhabi T10. But, we have all trained for such situations. We work on our fitness and on our skills in training, put in plenty of hard work, and that is what helps us get through a tough phase. We are all professionals and we have to handle it.”
Adding weight to the argument was Zimbabwe’s Sikander Raza, who turns out for the Chennai Braves.
“I agree with Iftikhar, we make a lot of sacrifices for our fitness, in terms of diet and rest. We cut out a lot of things in life, like things you want to eat or do. So, these performances and rewards are what we get for all the sacrifices we make in our lives. That’s why it’s extremely rewarding for us to be able to do what we do.”
Raza also had a word of praise for Carlos Brathwaite, who is a World Cup winner with West Indies.
“Carlos is one of our trump cards in the Chennai Braves side. He’s won the World Cup and he’s quite experienced, which is great. To see him shine in difficult conditions over here is extremely rewarding,” Raza said.
