So many years later, the best batsmen in the world still talk about me, insists Mohammed Asif
Mohammed Asif has revealed that he should have been treated better by the PCB for the kind of talent he was back in 2008-09. Asif, who was banned by the PCB for his involvement in spot-fixing, further added that the best batsmen in the world still talking about him is his greatest validation.
Despite not having great pace, Mohammed Asif was unerringly accurate and could cut the ball both ways with an insane regularity. That trait made him one of the finest bowlers of the time, so much so that, he picked 106 wickets in only 23 matches, at an average under 25. Recently, Kevin Pietersen talked about him as one of the best he ever faced. Asif stated that such praise was the validation of his immense potential, which left unfulfilled after he was banned for match-fixing in 2009.
"Players had been indulging in fixing before me [in 2010] and even after me. But those before me are working with PCB and there are few after me still playing. Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment [as me]. PCB never tried to save me regardless of the fact that I am the kind of bowler who was highly regarded by everyone in the world. But anyway I'm not sitting around brooding about the past or hung up on it," Asif told ESPN Cricinfo.
"I'm not sitting around brooding about the past or hung up on it. What happened is history. However much I played in my career, I made it count, duniya hila ke rakh de thi (I shook up the world). That is more important for me to think about. Even today, so many years later, the best batsmen in the world still remember me and they talk about me. Just think how big the impact was that I had on the world. So this is what makes me proud - that there is a reason KP, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla talk highly about me. That is what makes me happy."
When Pakistan pacers used to focus on their pace and swing, Asif heralded a new era to bring control factor to his bowling. He was one of the few players who could do whatever he wanted to do with a leather in his hand, something that helped Pakistan a lot during that famous in Kandy against Sri Lanka and once again in Sydney against Australia. Asif talked about two different practise sessions at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore when Mudassar Nazar and Wasim Akram were left stunned.
"You did certainly leave an impression on people… Muddy pa [Mudassar Nazar] once asked to bowl to someone at the NCA [National Cricket Academy in Lahore] as part of a trial. The guy I was bowling to, I asked if he had his guard on. He didn't and I made sure he put one on. The very first delivery I bowled to him, he left on line, only for it to come back and hit him on his guard. Muddy Pa laughed at me and said, "You bastard, how the f**k do you have such control?"
"One time I was bowling in the nets at Gaddafi Stadium and Wasim Akram was there. He asks me how many balls I would take to get the batsman out. I said, third ball I'll hit the stumps. The batsman was a lefty and he let my first two balls go, which were outswingers, and then he left the third one as well - but his stumps went flying, because this one came in, and I looked at Wasim and saw the amazement on his face," Asif added.
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