Everyone got a second chance, except me: Mohammad Asif

Tags: Pakistan, Mohammad Asif

Published on: May 05, 2020

Former Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif feels he deserved a second chance to represent his country as many others involved in spot-fixing had also got the same. Asif was banned for seven years for deliberate bowling no balls in a Test in England in 2010. He along with Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt were also jailed in the UK for their crime.

However, the lanky ex-fast bowler laments that he got a raw deal from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unlike some of the others. "Everyone makes mistakes and I did too. Players had been indulging in fixing before me and even after me. But those before me are working with PCB and there are few after me still playing," Asif told ESPNCricinfo'.

"Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment. 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," the 37-year-old further added while speaking to the website.

Asif however looks back at his career with pride, and points out that some of the best batsmen in the world remember how tough it was to play against him even now. "However much I played in my career, I made it count. 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," Asif proudly stated.

Asif admitted that he had done a lot of wrong during his career, and wants youngsters to learn from his mistakes. It may be recalled that he had to serve a one-year suspension after failing a dope test in 2006. "That is where I had issues. I want to give the kids this message that when you cross the boundary line into the field, your ambition should be to do well for yourself and for your team," the man with 106 scalps in 23 Tests said.

The ex-pacer also expressed disappointment at Amir retiring from Test cricket at 27, despite being brought back into the mix by PCB after his spot-fixing misdemeanours. "I curse the PCB for how they rescued his career. But it was his obligation to help Pakistan cricket in a tough situation and he should have stayed, especially when they had helped him return," Asif went on to state.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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