Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed lashed out at the media stating that he does not want them to hype or criticise a player based on just one inning. He blamed them for spoiling the atmosphere in the country. His criticism comes after Markhors suffered a five-wicket loss to Panthere in the Champions Cup on Sunday.
Speaking at the post match conference, Iftikhar said, "I want to tell you media guys that please don't hype players after one good innings. Let them prove their worth in domestic cricket. Let them top in domestic cricket for two to three times and then speak about bringing them in the Pakistan team."
" You hype someone after one innings and then when he fails for Pakistan, you start questioning his selection and then you guys only talk about them. For God's sake let a player top in all three formats and then speak about him. You guys start saying that we have found the new Inzamam-ul-Haq and things like that,"
The veteran all-rounder wants media to have patience and not praise or criticise someone on the basis of one game. He added, "I am not against anyone. I am just telling you to show some respect to domestic cricket. Once a player performs well across the three formats in domestic cricket, you, me, everyone will speak about him."
He then went on to blame media for negatively impacting the state of cricket in Pakistan " Aap log ki wajah se saara cricket ka mahaul kharab ho gaya hai (You guys have spoilt the atmosphere),".
Panthers lift Champions One Day Cup
The inaugural edition of the Champions One Day Cup saw Shadab Khan's Panthers emerging victorious over Iftikhar Ahmed's Markhors. After winning the toss and batting first, Markhors lost a couple of early wickets. Fakhar Zaman and Haseebullah Khan stitched a 56-run stand in 78 balls for the third wicket before Khan was dismissed.
Iftikhar scored just three runs from 14 balls and was dismissed lbw by Mohammad Hasnain. Markhors were bowled out for 122 in 33.4 overs with Arafat Minhas and Hasnain bagging three wickets apiece.
In the run chase, Panthers lost five wickets but they did not suffer a collapse. After Abdul Bangalzai's 41-run knock, Rizwan Mehmood and skipper Shadab Khan ensured Panthers chased down the non-threatening target in just 18 overs
