Pakistan has never had a shortage of talented pace bowlers. Rao Iftikhar Anjumi, a right-handed fast bowler from Rawalpindi, also started off his career with a bang and gave hope to fans waiting for the next great Pakistani fast bowler

by Saj Sadiq

25 February 2011

PakPassion.Net are proud to present a full-length and exclusive interview with Pakistan pace bowler Rao Iftikhar Anjum. Rao - who has to date represented Pakistan in 65 international matches - is renowned for his consistency and work ethic. The 30 year old right armer from Khanewal talks in great detail about the early stages of his career, his most treasured memories and what lies ahead in the future.

PakPassion.Net: Which player has been a big inspiration for you? Who was your role model when you first started playing cricket? 

Rao Iftikhar: I think my favourites would have to be Inzamam Ul-Haq and Waqar Younis. When I first started playing cricket, I would participate in a number of small tape ball games in Khanewal, but was never really a specialist bowler. In fact, I used to be a wicket keeper batsman at first though I found this to be a very difficult discipline and decided to move onto bowling some part-time spinners.

Over time, I moved away from focussing on batting so much and decided to bowl fast in short, ten over games taking the new ball and then bowling at the death. At this point, I watched Waqar Younis and started to become more and more interested in the art of bowling.


PakPassion.Net: So when did you start to take your game more seriously and form thoughts of representing Pakistan at the highest level?

Rao Iftikhar: Well I was never sure I would be able to make it to international level at that stage but around 1996-97 I started becoming fascinated with the sport and began to work harder at my bowling.


PakPassion.Net: When it comes to tactics, do you feel you are more suited to opening the bowling or being a first change bowler?

Rao Iftikhar: I believe this depends on which side I?m playing for. For example, if I?m in the Pakistan team, I rarely have much of an option and usually follow what is expected of me. Whenever I am called to represent the international side, it is usually as a replacement or back up for an injured player or for any other such reason.


PakPassion.Net: When you have been called into the ODI team, you have performed quite well, why do you feel you have not been given more opportunities? Secondly, have selectors sat down with you and discussed areas they expect you to improve upon?

Rao Iftikhar: Whatever opportunities I have been given are thanks to God. I can make excuses and consider myself unlucky but it is God?s will so I accept it.

No, I didn?t receive feedback from anyone. I don?t think it is in our cricketing culture for consultations like these to happen, perhaps players from other countries are told what they?ve done wrong, but I haven?t observed such a thing in Pakistan. When you?re dropped, the onus is on you to work harder and try to make a comeback through your performances in domestic cricket. I think if I can continue to perform there, I have a chance to make it into the team again.


PakPassion.Net: What are your thoughts on the current Pakistani domestic structure that is in place?

Rao Iftikhar: Slowly but surely it is improving, there are more advanced systems in place in other countries such as England, South Africa and Australia. While we are still behind those teams, I think they Pakistan?s domestic cricket is now moving in the right direction and insh?Allah, it will continue to progress.


PakPassion.Net: Do you think you?ve justified your talent? Could you have achieved more ODI wickets in your 62 appearances?

Rao Iftikhar: When I look through players who have taken hundreds of wickets, I also notice that they have played hundreds of games to achieve those milestones. When calculated, the wickets-per-match ratio for them is not too dissimilar to my own. 

Also, in the modern era, there are a lot of advantages for batsmen like flat wickets and PowerPlays which lead to scores in excess of three hundred in every game.

Furthermore, my role in the Pakistan team has often been the first change bowler which can be a big responsibility as you?re expected to take wickets or contain when both openers can already be well set. Conversely, if the new ball bowlers have bowled well and have taken wickets, you face a different pressure of having to maintain that high standard which has been established early on.


PakPassion.Net: Which performance do you consider to be your best in ODI cricket?

Rao Iftikhar: It would obviously have to be my career best bowling figures against Sri Lanka; My 5/30 was special because I became the first Pakistani fast bowler to take a five wicket haul against them in their home conditions. It was a very proud moment when I achieved such an accolade especially as so many of our former greats and my cricketing idols have played games there.


PakPassion.Net: You?ve played under the leadership of both Inzamam Ul-Haq and Younis Khan. Can you illustrate for us the main differences the two had in their approach to captaincy?

Rao Iftikhar: Inzamam was a calm individual who was given a team without too many big names. Despite being a class above the rest of his team, he always gave the remaining players of lesser calibre respect. Aside from Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf, it would be difficult to term any of the team members around 2003 to be world class; even Younis only started making consistent scores under Inzamam?s captaincy but before that he would be in and out of the side. The bowling was also indifferent for the early parts of Inzamam?s captaincy career before Mohammad Asif arrived. I believe Inzamam did an excellent job in grooming a young team and helping Pakistan improve through a difficult period.

Younis Khan has not done so much captaincy in general and, to add, I have had very limited chances during the time he was our leader. My best performance in Sri Lanka came under his captaincy but I?ve simply played very few games in this period.


PakPassion.Net: Pakistan were also crowned T20 Champions under Younis Khan?s captaincy in England, 2009. Can you describe your feelings during that point in your career?

Rao Iftikhar: We were ecstatic. The feelings contrasted how upset we had felt during the 2007 final loss against India but now that we had been given the gift of going one step further and secured the title, we were extremely grateful to God for helping Pakistan succeed.


PakPassion.Net: You?ve recently been involved in a lot of domestic cricket. Can you tell PakPassion.net about any bowler who has really impressed you and is a possible long-term candidate for the national side? 

Rao Iftikhar: I can?t really give an answer to that as cricket is a very tough game. To get to a certain level takes a long time and you cannot judge possible long-term players after having watched them in the short-term. I think if anybody relaxes or takes their talent for granted, it will immediately come back to hurt their careers and you can just disappear from this sport without a trace. 

Mohammad Amir and Irfan Pathan are examples of bowlers who have both drawn comparisons with former greats early on. We all said Mohammad Amir would play for years and now he is no longer representing Pakistan. It was said of Irfan, when he started, that he can swing the ball better than Wasim Akram and that he is better than Wasim Akram. A couple of years later nobody even knows about Irfan or where he is now.

Yes, I do see the odd bowler who impresses me in a domestic game or two but the real test comes at international cricket. When these players make that transition to the higher standard, they require different attitudes to survive over a certain duration. There are very good bowlers in our system but, for the reasons mentioned, I cannot make a judgement as to how they?ll go if playing for Pakistan.


PakPassion.Net: Recently, Pakistan have decided to include young left arm pace bowler Junaid Khan in the World Cup 2011 squad. Have you ever seen him bowl?

Rao Iftikhar: No, I?ve not seen Junaid?s bowling myself.


PakPassion.Net: Okay, with the World Cup approaching, can you instead give us some opinions on how Pakistan's batting is shaping up? Are there any young batsmen who you?ve found challenging to bowl to?

Rao Iftikhar: You must remember at this level you are playing with people who are close to your own skill level so on any given day you can struggle against any batsman but you can also get them out easily if you bowl well.

In my opinion, the current squad sent for the World Cup is a very balanced side. You have the presence of senior players such as Misbah Ul-Haq and Younis Khan and there is also a good crop of youth in Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal. These batsmen certainly have enough ability to perform in big games.


PakPassion.Net: Which batsman did you most enjoy bowling to in international cricket?

Rao Iftikhar: I always enjoyed bowling to Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist. Going head to head against players of this ability is extremely tough and very testing but I always enjoyed the contests I had with them and was happy to have bowled well against both.


PakPassion.Net: When you returned to Pakistan as the victorious T20 Champions in 2009, you were escorted through a different exit for security reasons. There were several fans that were in attendance and hoping to greet you but were left disappointed as you left abruptly. How did the players themselves feel having not been able to meet the public on such an occasion?

Rao Iftikhar: It?s not often you can return after such a grand occasion and be guaranteed hero-status in your homeland. The players wanted to see the people who had turned up at the airport and make the occasion memorable but obviously there were security problems. In Pakistan, you can?t always compromise on this and it would have been a risk, so it was understandable that our personnel acted in the interest of the players? welfare. 


PakPassion.Net: Despite being around the international circuit for nearly seven years, you?ve only collected a solitary test cap in your time. Do you think it is important for the board to back young players over a few games so they are given enough time to prove their credentials?

Rao Iftikhar: This is a necessity but it doesn?t occur too often in our country. If we look at England or Australia, they make sure to support the newer players in their team so they are not disheartened if they start off slowly and are therefore given a fair time period to express their talents.


PakPassion.Net: You recently participated in county cricket with Surrey. How was your experience in England?

Rao Iftikhar: Yes, I had a six week contract with Surrey as their other overseas player was unavailable at the time. It was a great experience in England, very different and I enjoyed it thoroughly.


PakPassion.Net: You?ve had quite a lot of experience on tours, particularly with limited overs games, has a bookie or any suspicious character ever approached you?

Rao Iftikhar: I?m fairly introverted by nature, and when on tours, I often joke that apart from the ground, I?ll be found in my room. Going out with other members of my team and engaging in other activities has rarely interested me so I?ve never really gone to places where I could be targeted by suspicious characters. I haven?t experienced such approaches in my career.


PakPassion.Net: We?d like to know what your view on your Islamabad team-mate Shoaib Akhtar is. In the media, we often read reports that he is arrogant and unforthcoming with advice to up and coming cricketers. Is there any truth in these representations of him we are given and what is his real character like?

Rao Iftikhar: I think the media have painted him in an altogether different light to what he is. For those of us who know Shoaib closely, these sort of news reports are often far different to his real personality and I?m always surprised when I hear him being described in such ways.

I?ve played with Shoaib both domestically and internationally and think to myself that these views are complete lies and that he?s nothing like that, in fact he?s a completely different person to how he is portrayed. Shoaib Akhtar has given a lot of time to junior players in our side and I don?t believe he considers himself to be a big star or above the younger cricketers in any way.


PakPassion.Net: Shoaib has been slightly out of form recently, do you think he can still offer a great deal to Pakistan?s bowling attack in this World Cup?

Rao Iftikhar: There is no doubt about this. Even now he is bowling very quickly and that is a big advantage to have. His ability has always been there so if he maintains his fitness, he can certainly win plenty more matches for Pakistan.