Afghanistan's Ikram breaks Sachin Tendulkar's 18-year-old WC record

Ikram Ali Khil

Afghanistan's 18-year-old youngster Ikram Ali Khil starred with an 86, which also became the highest score by an 18-year-old at the World Cup, beating an 18-year-old record previously held by none other than Sachin Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar had scored 84 against New Zealand in the memorable 1992 World Cup.

"I'm very proud to have broken the record of a legend like Tendulkar. It makes me very happy," said the wicket-keeper batsman.

Although Ikram Ali Khil opened up that his role model is not Sachin Tendulkar, but Kumara Sangakkara.

"Kumar Sangakkara is always in mind and my thoughts when I am batting out there," said Ikram, who is yet to meet the Sri Lankan great.

"His (Sangakkara) ability to rotate 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."

But unfortunately, Ikram's knock came in a losing cause as Afghanistan lost by 23 runs against West Indies.

Ikram's 86, however, ended up as the top score by an Afghan batsman in this World Cup.

"I'm very happy that I scored 86 runs which was the top score for Afghanistan," said Ikram, who was part of the Afghanistan team that reached the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup last year.
"No one had crossed that mark in 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 Ali Khil was born in the year 2000, on September 29. Ikram Ali Khil replaced Mohammad Shahzad in the Afghanistan squad. Shahzad was sent back to his home country mid-way through the World Cup due to poor fitness.

Here is how cricket enthusiasts on Twitter reacted to Ikram Ali Khil's knock:

With inputs from PTI

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