Following a gritty knock against the Windies at the ongoing ICC World Cup in Afghanistan’s last league game, the 18-year-old young wicketkeeper-batsman Ikram Ali Khil has impressed one and all, as many compared his innings with Sachin Tendulkar, who previously held the World Cup record at the age of 18. Also, Ikram has joined the elite club as a teenager.
Ikram, who slammed 86 off 92 deliveries, has beaten previous best of 84 which the then teenager Tendulkar scored against New Zealand at the 1992 World Cup event. During his high-quality knock, Ikram has found the fence on eight occasions.
Thus, Ikram broke Tendulkar’s record which came 27-odd years ago in the ODI showpiece.
Ikram is also keen to work hard on his game following a decent show. After replacing injured Mohammad Shahzad, Ikram drew ire for his no-show before delivering goods for Afghanistan.
On Thursday (July 4), Ikram came to bat at No. 3 position after the Windies set the formidable total of 311 for six in 50 allotted overs.
Ikram becomes the highest individual scorer at the World Cup:
Afghanistan might have ended their #CWC19 campaign without a win, but young Ikram Ali Khil gave their fans something to smile about in @ACBofficials' final fixture ?
How impressed were you with his knock? #AFGvWI | #AfghanAtalan pic.twitter.com/0qY15119cd
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 4, 2019
While speaking to the ICC about his achievement, Ikram is delighted to move ahead of Tendulkar after breaking his over the two-and-a-half decade-old record.
“I’m very proud to have broken the record of a legend like Tendulkar. It makes me very happy,” Ikram said.
At Headingley, Ikram backed himself to play big shots before attacking the loose balls. However, Chris Gayle has finally accounted for his wickets lbw to bring Caribbeans back into the game.
Kumar Sangakkara inspires Ikram Ali Khil:
The talented batsman Ikram maintained he draws his inspiration from legendary cricketer and former Sri Lanka skipper, Kumar Sangakkara.
Ikram reiterated that he is trying to imbibe what Sangakkara did during his heydays. He also remarked that rotating the strike and making most of the opportunities in between overs had pushed him to look at Sangakkara, who has inspired a younger lot in the cricketing arena.
“Kumar Sangakkara is always in mind and my thoughts when I am batting out there. His ability to rotate the strike and find a boundary when needed, that is what made him a world class batsman. That is what I try to copy as much as I can,” Ikram added.
While chasing 312 runs, Afghans fought well to give a scare to the Windies. But they eventually end up on losing the game by 23 runs.
Subsequently, it has left them without any win at the ICC World Cup 2019.
Ikram also revealed that he is a bit disappointed by not crossing the three-figure mark. He is
optimistic that he will score in a ton in the upcoming games for Afghanistan.
“I’m very happy that I scored 86 runs which was the top score for Afghanistan. No one had crossed that mark in the nine games but I’m disappointed at the same time because I thought I could score a hundred. Hopefully, in the games ahead I will score a hundred for Afghanistan,” Ikram concluded.
Apart from running Windies close, Afghanistan put up a spirited fight against India, Pakistan, in particular, to make a statement that they were in the United Kingdom (UK) to complete with full potential.