LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi senior all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed put all his weight behind upcoming and junior players and emphasized his team to show strength before they enter the playoffs stage.
After Peshawar Zalmi’s six-wicket defeat to Lahore Qalandars Iftikhar offered a balanced perspective on the loss before media in a press conference. He also explained the team strategy, and preparations for the playoffs.
Iftikhar defended young bowler Ali Raza, who endured a tough outing with both ball and field. “Ali Raza is our main bowler. If your main bowler concedes runs, you naturally slip out of the match. That is the reality. But look, he is a junior and is still in the learning process. We have to support him. He has bowled well throughout the tournament, and even if today was a bad day, we must stand by him,” he said.
Respon ction of leading wicket-taker Sufiyan Muqeem, Iftikhar explained: “Both batters were left-handed. Given how I was bowling, it made sense for Bracewell to follow. I think Sufiyan came on at the right time. Honestly, I just think Lahore played better cricket today.” Iftikhar admitted Zalmi’s fielding was below par, including his own dropped catch. “I lost the ball in the lights completely. It’s true that when you lose, everything looks out of place. We didn’t field well today, and we made mistakes in our bowling too. I think 200 runs on this wicket were enough,” he reflected.
Despite the setback, Zalmi remain top of the table and have already qualified for the playoffs. Iftikhar stressed the importance of maintaining high standards: “We haven’t thought about which team we’ll face. It depends on how we play. If we play ‘Champion-level’ cricket, we are ready to answer whoever comes before us. If you don’t play at that level, you can lose to any ordinary team. Our strength is that everyone in our lineup is performing, not just one or two individuals.”
On Kusal Mendis’s finger injury, Iftikhar reassured fans: “AlhamduLillah, he says he is fine. We were worried about a fracture, but it seems he is okay.” He also welcomed the decision to allow crowds back for the final: “It’s a matter of great joy. Every professional player enjoys it more when they play in front of their home fans.” Iftikhar emphasized his dual role as both batter and bowler. “I am a professional bowler! If you look at my domestic record, I have over 300 wickets. In modern cricket, you need to have two ‘jobs’—if you fail at one, you have the other to fall back on. I topped the domestic one-day stats recently and took wickets in four-day cricket as well. I am a proper bowler.”
Explaining why fast bowlers opened the attack instead of him, Iftikhar said: “We saw that the ball was swinging early on, so we decided to start with pace. The ball did swing, but the credit goes to Fakhar Zaman. He managed the swing well and played his natural game.”
