If there’s one nation, that has produced quality fast bowlers consistently, it is Pakistan. Sarfaraz Nawaz and Imran Khan made fast bowling appear appealing were the pioneers of the reverse swing.
Later on, the legendary Wasim Akram mastered the art of reverse swing. Akram along with Waqar Younis became one of the most lethal fast bowling pairs the cricketing world has ever come across. The fastest bowler the world has ever seen, Shoaib Akhtar, then appeared. Early in the new millennium, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir burst onto the scene and quickly rose to fame.
Despite Pakistan cricket's talent and expertise, controversy has always surrounded the nation's cricket. In 2010, a spot-fixing scandal tarnished Pakistan cricket and led to Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir's decline.
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While Amir returned to playing for the national cricket team, Asif was never quite able to get back on track. Wasim Akram, the former captain of Pakistan, claimed that Asif was really skilled but that he wasted everything when discussing the rather unfortunate course of events.
“Yeah, everyone raved about Mohammad Asif. Talent wasted, no doubt,” Akram said on ‘To Be Honest’ on the YouTube channel ‘Nashpati Prime’.
“But whoever I talked to, everyone said that they had seen such a bowler after decades. The way he controlled the ball, the way he managed to swing the ball both ways... it's very unfortunate for him and for Pakistan too.” he added.
Asif represented his nation in 23 Tests, 38 ODIs, and 11 T20Is over the course of his career, which lasted from 2005 to 2010. In the game's longest format, he took 106 wickets while he picked 46 scalps in ODIs and 13 in T20Is.
The former cricketer continued by stating that mistakes do happen and that it had been a very long time since he had last met Asif.
“I haven't seen him for ages. I have been living in Karachi for 10 years now, I rarely go to Lahore. He was a kid. Mistakes happen,” he said.
(FIRSTPOST INPUTS)
