Rao Iftikhar Anjum ( ur, ) (born 1 December 1980) is a former Pakistani cricketer right arm medium fast bowler and right hand batsman. Rao Iftikhar Anjum is another addition to Pakistan's seemingly endless production line of pace bowlers. Iftikhar, however, is more Aaqib Javed than Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis, and his outswinger is considered by many to be as effective as Aaqib's. He can bowl reverse-swing - a prerequisite for Pakistani bowlers, when the ball gets a bit rougher, with good control over his yorkers. Iftikhar has performed consistently well in the domestic circuit since making his debut three years ago, He took more than 200 wickets in Pakistani cricketing competition, before being added to the Pakistani national team, having taken ten wickets in the Patron's Trophy Final in 2004. He was rated the best bowler of the year in domestic circuit by former Pakistan's fast bowler Waleed Malik. Iftikhar was included in the Pakistani team for the one-day series against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and made his Paktel Cup debut seven months later. He was included in the Pakistani squad to the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

. He played three games, and took five wickets. Despite a decent haul, his inability to bowl at the death stood out. With the re-emergence of

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...

and Mohammed Asif, chances for Iftikhar Anjum seemed to be few and far between from then on barring injury to any of the other major players. However, with Shoaib and Asif falling foul of doping controversies, injuries, and disciplinary problems, Iftikhar was again called on and found himself as one of the more senior bowlers as Pakistan won the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh but failed to reach the final of the

2008 Asia Cup The 2008 Asia Cup (also called Star Cricket Asia Cup) was a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament, held in Pakistan from 24 June to 6 July 2008, at two venues. The six teams which took part in the tournament were India, Pakistan, Sri Lan ...

which they hosted. He was signed by

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

as their overseas player for the first part of the 2010 English season, while

Piyush Chawla Piyush Chawla (; born 24 December 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India national cricket team. He has also played for the India under-19 team and the Central Zone. He is seen as a leg-spinning all-rounder in domestic cricke ...

was playing in the

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anjum, Iftikhar 1980 births Living people Pakistan One Day International cricketers Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers Islamabad cricketers Surrey cricketers Pakistani cricketers Rawalpindi cricketers Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited cricketers Federal Areas cricketers Islamabad Leopards cricketers Rawalpindi Rams cricketers Punjab (Pakistan) cricketers Cricketers from Khanewal Pakistani Sunni Muslims