"Had Shaheen not injured himself, we would have won the T20 World Cup"- Iftikhar Ahmed
Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed claimed that Shaheen Shah Afridi's injury proved to be the difference between their side and England in the T20 World Cup final last year.
The Men in Green had set a target of just 138 for England to win the title. However, their pacers made life difficult for Jos Buttler and co. early on. It required another special knock from their big-match player Ben Sokes to ensure that they went over the line with an over to spare.
An injury to Shaheen forced captain Babar Azam to go to Iftikhar for his off-spin and the move didn't work out as that over gave England the momentum they needed in the chase.
In an exclusive interview with Cricwick, Iftikhar Ahmed explained how captain Babar Azam had no other option but to hand the ball to him:
"I believe had Shaheen not injured himself, we would have won the T20 World Cup. It was a tricky pitch and seamers were getting help. It wasn't a spinner's pitch, but I had to bowl because we had no option."
With the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka, Iftikhar is confident about Pakistan batters' ability to play spin.
"These are just false talks that Pakistan batters can't play spinners. If we don't play spinners well, then who will play? Will Australia, England, or New Zealand play? We have grown up playing on spin-friendly wickets and have played in Bangladesh and Dubai where you get spin from the first over. I feel Pakistan batters are best players of spin."
Iftikhar Ahmed on Babar Azam's captaincy
Iftikhar Ahmed has played quite a few games under Babar Azam's captaincy and hailed the latter for leading by example. The all-rounder also spoke about how Babar believes in clarity in the dressing room and stated:
"Babar Azam as a captain is as big as he is a player. He himself leads by example by playing fearless cricket and also urges his teammates to play fearlessly. He has told the players to talk to him openly about whatever is bothering them and he tries to solve it. He has always supported the players."
Pakistan will face India in a highly-anticipated Asia Cup encounter to be played in Kandy on September 2.