Pakistan batsman Imran Nazir has enthralled the cricket fans through his aggressive batting style on quite a few occasions. Despite facing ups and downs in his career, Nazir’s popularity hasn’t dropped a bit.

Nazir has represented Pakistan in 8 Tests, 79 ODIs and 25 T20Is thus far. But for the last four years, he was battling an illness and didn’t play any cricket. After recovering from the ailment, Imran Nazir is now raring to return to competitive cricket even if playing for Pakistan is not possible.

"I've forgotten those days like one forgets a bad dream. I am back to playing cricket and it remains to be seen how far I can stretch myself. I've played a lot and every kind of cricket. As a professional, I am aware of what I have to do to regain my fitness and make a comeback. How much I need to train, how much I need to bat. I am improving, and the duration of my training is increasing day by day,” Nazir told Cricbuzz.

"With every week, I can see improvement. No doubt, the gap has been huge. Four and a half years are too much. Then the magnitude of my injury was also different. Many people are not aware that it leads to memory loss. But I am glad to say that I have recovered from it as well," he added.

When things were going downhill for Nazir, he turned into a spiritual individual. He speaks at length about his family being a constant support system to him during that torrid period. Imran Nazir also expressed his gratitude towards the fans who prayed for him all the while.

"I want to thank the Almighty [for providing me health]. We can say that I am starting a new life. Prayers are very powerful. I want to thank everyone around the world who prayed for me, especially my family, my wife. I consider myself very lucky that I had heaps of prayers at my back as people wanted to see me in action again,” Nazir asserted.

"Self-belief is very important in one's life and one should trust oneself. It was definitely a very difficult time for me, but I knew I will overcome it. Being a cricketer, I used to travel all the time. So when I went down, it disheartened me. But I never gave up," he continued.

At 36, the chances of making a return to international cricket are very slim. However, it doesn’t bother Imran Nazir one bit.

"It is not important to only play international cricket. In my childhood, I only wanted to play cricket. It was not about playing for Pakistan," he recalled.

"All of my joints, my shoulders, elbows, knees, feet they used to hurt a lot. There's a lot that I don't open up about. Honestly, I couldn't sleep for three or three and a half years. It was a very tough time. But as a sportsman, I had a lot of willpower and I swallowed all the pain. I used to pray to god that I don't become bedridden. I engaged myself in different things. I used to clean my house, go for walks, and play with my kids. That's how I spent my time. I knew if I stopped pushing myself, I would never recover. Probably an ordinary human would have given up.

"One should never lose hope in life. My episode is a message for every youngster and even every adult. No matter what life throws at you, if you are daring and motivated enough, you would overcome it. Same was the case with me. Since childhood, I regarded disappointment as a sin. Even when I was dropped from the team, I accepted it. I knew I will get what is in my fate," he explained.

Things have changed significantly since Nazir last played for Pakistan. Now there is a lot of emphasis on fitness. Such is the fascination with meeting the fitness goals that even the seniors failing to meet the benchmarks.

"I never lose hope. You can say that it is my aim to play for Pakistan again. But it depends on my training and whether I am qualified for it. If I am, then definitely I will play again. If not, then there is a lot of [T20] cricket. Now there's a new tournament every week. When I began my journey, I wanted to do something. And now in my second life, the aim is the same. I want to do something which will make the world happy," Nazir concluded.