Pakistan cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed has grown in stature over the past year, with his hard-hitting finishing abilities and handy off-spin bowling making him a crucial part of the Pakistan team in the white-ball formats.
Iftikhar Ahmed is currently on his first-ever tour to India, for the World Cup 2023.
Amid his preparations in Hyderabad, where Pakistan will play their warm-up matches, the 33-year-old Iftikhar Ahmed got a surprising proposal from an Indian fangirl from Punjab.
In a video that is going viral on social media, a young Indian girl called Heer has proposed to Iftikhar. In this video, she affectionately calls him “Jaanu”, adding that Iftikhar is “Chachu” for the world, but not for her. Iftikhar is fondly called “Chachu” by his fans, but for Heer, he is her “Jaanu”. Heer reportedly lives in Dubai and belongs to the Punjab state of India.
Watch: Indian girl from Punjab proposes Iftikhar Ahmed
Live proposal for Iftimania😂♥️.@IftiFC Mubarak ho#PAKvsNZ #WorldCup2023 #IFTImania pic.twitter.com/OMLYyT9KZw
— Shaharyar Ejaz 🏏 (@SharyOfficial) September 29, 2023
Meanwhile, the Pakistani fans will be hoping that Iftikhar continues his form from the Asia Cup 2023 into the World Cup 2023 as well. In the Asia Cup, the right-hander smashed an entertaining knock of 109* runs in 71 balls against Nepal.
He then recorded scores of 23 and 47 against India and Sri Lanka respectively, while also taking 3 wickets against Sri Lanka.
Before landing in India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had boldly stated that the goal for the Pakistan team is not just to reach the semi-finals, but to win the World Cup trophy, which, if they achieve their goal, would be their second ODI WC trophy, having won the 1992 WC under Imran Khan.
“The top four is a small goal for us. We want to come out as winners,” Babar Azam said last week.
“We did not have enough time to put together a camp before the World Cup because we had been playing for too long continuously. Instead, we gave the players a break so they could come back refreshed and with the hunger to win. You play well when you have that hunger.”
“Before the last two games in the Asia Cup, we were doing really well with the same team. Although we could not deliver the way we could, we have learned from our mistakes, as individuals and as a team. We have discussed all our mistakes as a team with the support staff and put it behind us. Asia Cup was a different tournament, the World Cup is entirely different.”
