Iftikhar Ahmed (Chacha) Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Iftikhar Ahmed is a Pakistani cricketer who is known for hitting big sixes with explosive power. He emerged as one of the best-attacking batsmen in the international circuit in the early decade of the 2020s.

Wiki/Biography

Iftikhar Ahmed (also spelt as Iftikhar Ahmad) was born on Monday, 3 September 1990 (age 33 years; as of 2023) in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He was interested in playing cricket since his childhood and later became a professional cricketer.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 10″

Weight (approx.): 70 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 42″, Waist 32″, Biceps 14″

Family

Parents & Siblings

There are not much details about his family and siblings.

Wife & Children

He is married and has a son and a daughter.

Religion

He follows Islam.

Autograph

Career

Domestic

Inter-District

He played his first two-day match for Nowshehra on 5 May 2010 against Lower Dir in the Inter-District Senior Tournament 2010 and scored 56 runs. He played his first three-day match for Federally Administered Areas on 17 July 2008 in the Inter-District Senior Tournament 20108-09 and scored 44 runs.

First Class

He played his debut first-class match for Peshawar on 18 October 2011 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2011-12 and scored 37 runs in the first innings. He debuted for the Water and Power Development Authority on 12 October 2014 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2014-15 and scored 74 runs in the first innings. He made his debut for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited on 1 October 2016 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2016-17 and scored 127 runs in the first innings and 10 runs in the second innings. He debuted for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 14 September 2019 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20 and scored 35 runs in the first innings.

List-A

He played his debut List A match for Peshawar Panthers on 27 February 2012 in the One Day National Cup Division Two Tournament 2011-12 and scored 17 runs. He debuted for the Water and Power Development Authority on 5 April 2013 in the President’s Cup One Day Tournament 2012-13 and scored 18 runs. He made his debut for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters on 31 December 2014 in the Pentangular Cup One Day Tournament 2014-15 and scored 11 runs.

He played his first match for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited on 28 December 2017 in the One Day Cup for Departments 2017-18 and scored 68 runs. He made his debut for Rawalpindi regions on 25 January 2018 in the One Day Cup for Regions Tournament 2017-18 and scored 61 runs. He debuted for Sindh on 27 April 2018 in the Pakistan Cup 2017-18 and scored 116 runs. He played his first match for Punjab on 2 April 2019 in the Pakistan Cup 2018-19 and scored 54 runs.

T20

He made his T20 debut for Peshawar Panthers on 12 October 2010 in the National T20 Cup 2010-11 and scored 9 runs. He debuted for the Peshawar Region on 26 August 2016 in the National T20 Cup 2016-17 and scored 17 runs. He played his debut match for Rawalpindi Region on 12 November 2017 in the National T20 Cup 2017-18 and scored 2 runs.

He played his debut match for Islamabad Region on 10 December 2018 in the National T20 Cup 2018-19 and scored 1 run. He played his debut match for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 13 October 2019 in the National T20 Cup 2019-20. He played for Pakistan Shaheens during their tour to New Zealand in December 2020.

International

Pakistan-A

Test

He made his test debut for Pakistan-A on 29 October 2018 against Australia and scored 4 runs in the first innings and 45 runs in the second innings.

One-Day

He played his debut one-day match for Pakistan-A on 16 December 2014 against Kenya at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and scored 12 runs. He later played against New Zealand A in 2018.

T20

He played his debut T20 match for Pakistan A on 12 October 2018 against New Zealand A and scored 26 runs.

Pakistan

Test

He made his test debut on 11 August 2016 against England and scored 4 runs in the first innings.

ODI

He played his debut ODI match on 13 November 2015 against England and scored 5 runs. He hit his first ODI century on 30 August 2023 against Nepal with a score of 109 runs not out in the 2023 Asia Cup. He took his maiden ODI 5-wicket haul against Zimbabwe on 1 November 2020 and took 5 wickets for 40 runs.

Alhamdulillah, an unbelievable feeling crossing the triple figures for the first time in green wearing the ⭐️ on my heart.

Truly humbled by all the love.

An amazing day having the best seat to watching the master at work @babarazam258.

Great start to the tournament for us! pic.twitter.com/E2zymPdsbN

— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiMania) August 30, 2023

T20I

He played his debut T20I match on 4 March 2016 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2015-16. He made his maiden T20I fifty on 5 November 2019 by scoring 62 runs against Australia.

T20 World Cup

His debut T20 World Cup was 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia; he scored 114 runs in 7 matches with a strike rate of 122.58 with 2 half-centuries, one against India with 51 runs off 34 balls and another against South Africa with 51 runs off 35 balls.

Franchise Leagues

Pakistan Super League (PSL)

He played his debut PSL match for Karachi Kings on 5 February 2016 in the first season of PSL. He played his debut match for Peshawar Zalmi on 9 February 2017 in the 2017 PSL season and helped them win the tournament. He played for Karachi Kings in the 2020 PSL season and helped them win the tournament. He played for Islamabad United in the 2021 PSL season and for Quetta Gladiators in the 2022 and 2023 PSL seasons.

Lanka Premier League (LPL)

Iftikhar Ahmed played for Galle Gladiators in the 2022 LPL season; he made his debut on 6 December 2022. He was acquired by Colombo Strikers for the 2023 LPL season for $50,000.

Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL)

He played for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2022 Shpageeza Cricket League held in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Abu Dhabi T10 League

He played for the Bangla Tigers in the 2022 Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Global T20 Canada

He played for Surrey Jaguars in the 2023 Global T20 Canada League and captained the team.

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)

He played for Fortune Barishal in the 2023 BPL season. On 19 January 2023, he scored his maiden T20 century on 19 January 2023 by scoring 100 runs not out against Rangpur Riders.

 

Jersey Number

His jersey number in the Pakistan team is 95.

Records

• He put up a partnership of 82 runs with Shadab Khan for the 6th wicket against South Africa on 3 November 2022, which is the highest 6th wicket T20I partnership for Pakistan.

• He put up a partnership of 82 runs with Faheem Ashraf for the 8th wicket against New Zealand on 17 April 2023, which is the highest 8th wicket T20I partnership for Pakistan.

• He made a partnership of 214 runs with Babar Azam for the 5th wicket against Nepal on 30 August 2023, which is the highest 5th wicket ODI partnership for Pakistan.

• The most expensive overseas player in 2023 Lanka Premier League (LPL)

• Became the second oldest Pakistani player to score an ODI century (on 30 August 2023; at the age of 32 years 361 days)

Favourites

• Meat: Lamb

• Holiday Destination: New Zealand

Facts/Trivia

• Iftikhar Ahmed is a batting allrounder; his batting style is right-handed, and his bowling style is right-arm off-break.
  

  Iftikhar Ahmed bowling in a match

• He was signed by Kandahar Knights for the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League (APL) season; however, he was not allowed to play in the tournament by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

• In March 2023, he received the Golden Visa for Dubai.

Alhamdulillah, I am honoured to receive my GOLDEN VISA from a country which I can call my second home. 🇦🇪 @GDRFADUBAI

Special thanks to Moazzam Qureshi for making this happen 🤝🏼 pic.twitter.com/72aZ0M6OaD

— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiMania) March 28, 2023

• Before the match against India in the 2023 Asia Cup, some tweets went viral which claimed that Iftikhar said in an interview that the Indian team was no match for the Pakistan team and that playing against India is like playing against children. Iftikar took to Twitter to clarify that someone was misinforming the public, and he has never said such things.

I’ve been made aware of this statement which I’ve never made. In fact, no professional cricketer will make such a statement. Please stop circulating false news & report this individual for spreading hate.@X @elonmusk please ban this account as people are misusing the blue tick. https://t.co/dmgDEfM9jp pic.twitter.com/fExqNRa9Zk

— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiMania) August 16, 2023

• Iftikhar disclosed the story behind his popular name ‘Chacha-e-Cricket’ in an interview and said that during the match against Zimbabwe in 2020 in which he claimed his maiden ODI 5-wicket haul, he was asking Babar Azam to change the field positions while bowling against Brendan Taylor; however, Babar was not doing so. After repeated requests, Babar changed the field, and Iftikhar dismissed Taylor by getting him caught by the same fielder. Babar jokingly called him Chacha-e-cricket which went viral and became his popular name. He jokingly said that even his own son calls him by that name. He is also known as Ifti Chacha.

• Iftikhar hit 6 sixes for Quetta Gladiators in the final over by Wahab Riaz in the exhibition PSL match against Peshawar Zalmi on 5 February 2023. Popular Pakistani player Shahid Afridi praised Iftikhar and called him Boom Boom. ^[1]The Tribune

• There have been speculations regarding Iftikhar Ahmed’s real age as several fans have claimed that he is much older than his age.

• He often uses the ‘Bhai’ word (meaning brother in English) during his conversations. He is popular for his conversations with other Pakistani players under #IftiMania. ^[2]Twitter – Iftikhar Ahmed

Aaj kal ke barray Bhai itna sharmatay kyun hai? pic.twitter.com/KZI6MfTy5z

— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiMania) August 31, 2023

• He has built a stadium in his village to help underprivileged children.