Watch- Iftikhar Ahmed launches a ballistic attack at Pakistan media in a Press Conference

Pakistan middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed has slammed mediapersons after his team's defeat in the final of the Champions One-Day Cup. Iftikhar blamed Pakistan's mediapersons for the deterioration of cricket in the country.

Iftikhar Ahmed played in the final of the Champions Cup between the Markhors and the Stallions. As the captain of Markhors, he would have loved to lift the trophy. Unfortunately, it was not Markhors' day and they lost a one-sided match.

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Iftikhar Ahmed slams Pakistani media persons

During a press conference after the final, Iftikhar Ahmed was extremely angry at the journalists for hyping a player just based on an innings. Iftikhar asked the reporters to let a player perform consistently before considering his name for Pakistan's national side.

"You guys (mediapersons) hype a player so much after one good inning. Let him just perform in domestic cricket. Let him top the season in domestic cricket two or three times. Then, talk about the player's chances for Pakistan," Iftikhar Ahmed said to the reporters.

"You guys hype the player so much then if he fails in Pakistan, you guys ask questions of him. Then, you guys talk negative things about him. We have to listen because of you guys. For god's sake, let a player perform in all three formats. Then, talk about him," he added.

The Pakistan allrounder asked the mediapersons not to compare a player to the greats so early. He also mentioned clearly that he is not against any particular player and just performs him to do well in all the formats.

"You guys compare a player to Inzamam-ul-Haq and all the other greats. I am not against any player. I am just telling you guys to give respect to domestic cricket. If a player performs well in all the three formats, then we all will talk about the player," the middle-order batter stated.

Iftikhar Ahmed blames media persons for the deterioration of Pakistan's cricket

Iftikhar Ahmed even went on to blame the journalists for the deterioration of cricket in the country. He claimed that hyping the players after just one innings and then criticizing them does not help the confidence of the youngster.

"Aap log ki wajah se cricket ka saara mahaul kharab ho gaya hai (It is because of you all that the cricket environment has deteriorated). The reason is you hype the players after just one innings and then criticize him just on the basis of one innings," the 34-year-old added.

In recent times, Pakistan cricket has been going through turmoil. The team has been performing poorly in all three formats. They failed to reach the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup last year and were then eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 just a few months earlier.

"Our whole cricket's atmosphere has been spoiled because of you people."

Iftikhar Ahmed responded to a question by a journalist.#ChampionsCup | #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/x9WN3lg1YH

— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) September 29, 2024

The Men in Green were then whitewashed 0-2 by Bangladesh in a Test series at home which further added to their misery. Pakistan will next play England in a three-match Test series at home.