Iftikhar Ahmed, in a local interview on Sunday, opened up about his experience of being called "Chachu" by his fans in the stadium. At first, he was annoyed by the nickname, but over time, he has come to enjoy it.

Fans started calling him 'Chachu' after the Pakistan captain, Babar, referred to him as such. The nickname, which means 'uncle' in Urdu, stuck, and fans began calling him by that name in the stadium.

As Ahmed's popularity grew, so did the use of the "Chachu" nickname. He started to hear it more frequently in the stadium, and even on social media. He began to embrace the nickname, realizing that it was a way for his fans to connect with him on a personal level.

"If I tell you honestly, I was initially annoyed by the [Chachu] chants. However, now I enjoy it. I remember fans used to cheer for Shahid Afridi when he used to come to bat. Now, they cheer for me similarly, which makes me happy. It is not a bad thing, as it is the crowd’s way of supporting me. I am not bothered by it anymore and actually enjoy them, so I request the fans to keep enjoying," Iftikhar said.

Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, during the post-match press conference of fifth ODI, also mentioned feeling embarrassed that due to him, his teammate, Iftikhar, is now known as 'Chahcha.' However, despite this feeling, he is happy that people enjoy it.

Babar also praised Iftikhar's abilities and acknowledges that he has been playing great cricket for the past few months.

"Sometimes, I feel embarrassed that due to me Iftikhar is now known as 'Chacha' but I am happy that people enjoy it. He gave some brilliant performances in T20 cricket and today he took the game deep alone but unfortunately, he didn't get support from the other end.

"That is why we gave him a chance in ODIs because he has been playing great cricket for the last five-six months and we were struggling on those numbers so we are getting a lot of help from Iftikhar and Salman Ali Agha," Babar said.