Ikram Alikhil is an Afghan cricketer who plays as a left-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper. He is one of the most promising young talents in Afghanistan cricket and has impressed with his batting skills and glovework. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in March 2019 and has been a regular member of the team since then.
Ikram Alikhil was born on 29 September 2000 in Kabul, Afghanistan. His father, Faizi Alikhil, was a businessman and his mother, Zainab, was a homemaker. He has two brothers and one sister. He belongs to the Alikhil tribe of Afghanistan. He was passionate about cricket since his childhood and his father introduced him to the game when he was nine years old. He studied at Habibia High School in Kabul and later moved to Peshawar, Pakistan for higher education.
Ikram Alikhil is married to his cousin, Samia Parvin, who is a psychology student at Dhaka University. They tied the knot on 22 March 2019 and have a daughter who was born in November 2020. He follows Islam and his hobbies include fishing, playing video games and watching movies. His favourite quote is "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
Ikram Alikhil started playing cricket as a batsman and wicket-keeper and joined the Afghanistan Cricket Board's academy in 2015. He played for the Afghanistan under-15 and under-17 teams before making his first-class debut for Band-e-Amir Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament on 1 March 2017. He made his List A debut for Band-e-Amir Region in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament on 10 July 2017. He was the leading run-scorer for Band-e-Amir Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with 612 runs in seven matches. He also took 12 dismissals as a wicket-keeper in the tournament. He made his Twenty20 debut for Band-e-Amir Dragons in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League on 14 September 2017. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League. He made his Twenty20 debut for Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League on 25 November 2019.
Ikram Alikhil was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He scored an unbeaten century in the final of the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup and helped Afghanistan to win their maiden ACC Under-19 Cup title. In December 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's under-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. In February 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's Test and One Day International (ODI) squads for their series against Ireland in India . He made his ODI debut for Afghanistan against Ireland on 2 March 2019. He made his Test debut for Afghanistan against Ireland on 15 March 2019. On 6 June 2019, he was added to Afghanistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup . He replaced Mohammad Shahzad, who was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. He finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer for Afghanistan, with 254 runs in nine matches. His highest score was 86 against West Indies, which was also the highest individual score by an Afghan batsman in World Cup history.
Ikram Alikhil has played 14 ODIs for Afghanistan till date, scoring 238 runs at an average of 23.80. His highest score is 86 against West Indies in June 2019. He has also taken 0 wickets at an average of –. His best bowling figures are –.
Ikram Alikhil has not played any T20I matches for Afghanistan till date.
Ikram Alikhil has played 1 Test for Afghanistan till date, scoring 7 runs at an average of 7.00. His highest score is 7 against Ireland in March 2019. He has also taken 4 catches and 1 stumping as a wicket-keeper.
Ikram Alikhil has not captained Afghanistan in any format of the game. He has, however, led Band-e-Amir Region and Rajshahi Rangers in domestic cricket.
Ikram Alikhil was fined 15 percent of his match fee for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an ODI against Ireland in January 2021. He was also reprimanded for using inappropriate language during a T20I against Zimbabwe in March 2021.