MIG
PakPassion Administrator
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Runs
- 43,972
PakPassion.net presents an exclusive interview with Asim Kamal. Asim, an underrated middle order batsman, has appeared in 12 Test matches for Pakistan and averages 37.73 runs with the bat. Despite scoring 8 fifties in 20 innings, Asim has found himself on the outside looking in when it came to team selection and last played for Pakistan in 2005. A gritty and gutsy batsman from Karachi, the 34 year old believes he still has the ability to represent Pakistan in Test cricket and has a few good years left in him. We thank Asim for his time and wish him the best of luck
PakPassion.Net: Let us know about the early days of your cricketing career? How did you develop your batting skills and what sort of hard work have you done to become a solid middle order batsman?
Asim Kamal: I got interested as a youngster. Where I used to live, I saw people like Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif come and play in that area – I used to bowl to them, carry their kit – just the whole atmosphere was such that I got interested in cricket.
PakPassion.Net: Any role model - Who was your favourite player growing up?
Asim Kamal: No specific person was my inspiration– except my late father was really interested in me becoming a cricketer. Saeed Anwar was a left hander so naturally, he was someone I wanted to copy as was Brian Lara. In fact now that I think about it, the three people who I could really look up to were Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail and Brian Lara.
PakPassion.Net: Asim, you debuted for Pakistan nearly 8 years ago against South Africa. When you look back at the 12 Tests you played for Pakistan in the span of 2 years, where do you think you went wrong? Were you treated unfairly by the selectors?
Asim Kamal: When I started International cricket – there was a lot of competition. I recall that I played against Allied Bank Limited where Aamir Sohail was their captain. I did well in that match and after the match, Aamir praised me for my batting and gave me some advice as well. The very next year, Aamir became a selector for the Pakistan cricket team. During the same time, I went to England to play league cricket as I was a little disheartened that I did not make it to the national team – even though I had about 900 runs to my name. Aamir called me to ask me to return to Pakistan as he promised me a fairer consideration for the national team. I was in two minds as to leaving England as this was a question of livelihood.
Aamir insisted that I should come back and go to South Africa with Pakistan A team and if I succeeded, he would help me into a test debut. As advised, I came back home and went with the A team to South Africa where I performed well, saving Pakistan from an innings defeat.
True to his word, he helped me in getting selected for the home series against South Africa. As you know in those days, there was very tough competition for the middle order. You may consider this my fate that I made an appearance during this period of Pakistani cricket. I had to compete against the likes of Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf which was a tough ask.
However, what irks me is the fact that even after some good performances, I was always in and out of the team. This continued even at a time when Inzamam Bhai had retired and space did exist in the middle order.
I guess you can call it fate or just simply the way Pakistani cricket works!
PakPassion.Net: You scored 99 on debut, you said to Saj the other day that it seems like a distant dream. Tell us about that innings, how nervous you were and how it felt to be dismissed for 99? Do you think a 100 on that day would have changed your career for ever?
Asim Kamal: Fact is that even Tendulkar looks nervous in the 90s – so I don’t think this is a strange thing. Fact is that I wasn’t that nervous but that’s what happened – I guess, my 99 made me more famous as it was done on a debut! You will find many people who scored hundreds i
on debut but 99s are very few! I guess the ball that got me out was also special and at the end of the day, this was Allah’s will – what else can one say?
As for whether the 99 was some sort of hindrance for the rest of my career, well that’s simply not true. As I said before, the 99 on debut was more famous than many hundreds would have been! In fact, in terms of innings, the inning of 70 odd against India that I played with a fractured elbow and the innings against Australia in Sydney are far better examples of my performance. As you know, historically, half of the game is already lost in the minds of our players when they arrive in Australia.
I not only performed well against the likes of McGrath and Warne but also created pressure on our own players who possibly saw me as a threat to their careers due to the ease with which I played at Test level – without fear or pressure. To me there is no pressure in Test cricket – in fact I found it easier to play Test cricket and in my opinion, I would have easily been one of Pakistan’s top batsmen if I had been persisted with."
PakPassion.Net: Who was the most difficult bowler you faced in your International career?
Asim Kamal: McGrath would be my choice as a bowler who was very difficult to face although, I don’t think he caused me any problems. On the domestic front, I played against Wasim Akram and he was in a class of his own.
PakPassion.Net: Asim your fitness was questioned by Bob Woolmer, how did you feel at the time when those concerns were raised by the coach? How do you feel about foreign coaches for Pak team?
Asim Kamal: When you talk about coaching, I would say that at Test level players don’t really need a coach although the process of learning never stops. Let me tell you a little story from one of the Test matches in Australia. I hit Shane Warne for a few fours in an over and when the match ended, no less than Matthew Hayden came to our dressing room and asked Inzi Bhai to speak to me. He wanted to ask me about how I played Shane Warne so well – can you imagine that? A player of his stature was still willing to learn from a novice like me!
My point is that there is always something to learn and we all continue to learn. I don’t think you need coaches at National team level although they are necessary at the under-14 type levels or at the academies. Test cricket is not the place to learn basic techniques – although you need a tactician or a planner who has experience. If you ask a coach to change your game then whatever talent you have will be wasted away in trying to change.
As for my fitness issue, well the fact is that I have played and scored in Test and First Class matches. How can this be done without being physically fit? Bob Woolmer knew that I had played a long innings so I don’t think he ever thought that. Truth be known, this was a myth that other jealous players probably created to influence selection. I don’t think fitness is an issue at all – if it were, I wouldn’t be able to stand on a cricket field and score runs at all!
PakPassion.Net: Do you feel you are best suited to Test cricket or can you adapt to One Day cricket as well?
Asim Kamal: Test cricket is the most complex version of this game. If anyone has good defence, they can play shots in all versions of the game with ease. As you know, in our season at home, we mostly play the short form of cricket. It's obvious that I have played One Day cricket all my life but they still say that I am not a One Day cricket player! How can they know my strengths in this form of the game if they don’t allow me to play? Let me give you an example. At the inauguration of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan and India played an exhibition match where Pakistan was reduced to 40 for 4 and I came in and scored a brisk 70+! I didn’t play much after that but as you can see, even with my skills, I was not given enough chances and then it was said about me that this guy cannot play limited overs cricket – how can that be? Just sounds odd, doesn’t it?
PakPassion.Net: Do you think T20 cricket is ruining the techniques of young batsmen in Pakistan?
Asim Kamal: T20 is definitely destroying Test match cricket. It’s a form of entertainment for the public but not good in the long run. In the old days, Test matches used to last forever – in fact, I would say that these matches would last longer than 5 days if the rules were such! It was very difficult to get players out but nowadays, it’s very normal for a match to finish in 3 days! As Younis Khan said, it’s just entertainment cricket and is having disastrous effects on techniques of our test players.
PakPassion.Net: Who, in your view, are the top bowlers and batsmen in domestic cricket at the moment ?
Asim Kamal: In my view, there are many players in domestic cricket who can make it to the top most level of cricket today. In particular, amongst wicketkeepers, I would name Amin-ur-Rehman and Sarfraz Ahmed who can shine at the top, especially given issues with our current wicketkeepers.
Amongst batsmen, Khalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor are noteworthy. I would also recommend my own younger brother, Aariz, as a good prospect as well.
As far as bowlers are concerned, Mohammed Talha as well as Tabish Khan from Karachi are noteworthy. I have played against Mohammed Irfan as well and found that his height can cause problems for batsmen but he still needs to work harder at his bowling."
PakPassion.Net: Thoughts on Fawad Alam? Will he be the next Asim Kamal (in terms of being dropped from the team) ?
Asim Kamal: I think he is a very talented player who was brought in from domestic T20 circuit and who has played at the Test level and scored a hundred against good bowling attacks in Sri Lanka and New Zealand [Fawad in fact hit a 77 in a tour match] – it's not easy to play at that level so there is definitely a lot of talent.
I think his downfall is due to the management not grooming him for Test cricket and trying him out in all three forms of the game. He is clearly not suited for the short form of cricket and he is being wasted there. He needs to be played more in Test cricket."
PakPassion.Net: What was your initial reaction when news of the spot fixing scandal first broke?
Asim Kamal: Well my first reaction was sadness as the good name of our country is being soiled in this way. These players are our ambassadors and as a player you need to be extra vigilant and careful when on tour as it effects the reputation of the country. Lets see how the case progresses against them – they should be punished if they are guilty. If they are found innocent then this whole affair would be very unfair to Pakistan and its players.
PakPassion.Net: Is such corruption common? Have you been approached by a bookie or know of players who have been approached? Is poverty an excuse for corruption in cricket?
Asim Kamal: I was never asked or forced to take part in any illegal activity like that – I have played a lot of cricket in Pakistan and I have never been asked to take part in any such activity. Although, I accept that since there is so much talk about fixing etc, there must be some truth to it. All I can say is that I have never been involved in anything like that.
As for poverty being a factor in corruption, let me say that most players in Pakistan are from poor and under privileged backgrounds. There is enough money in cricket that they can live off honest earnings for the rest of their careers but if someone wants to make a living from illegal methods, then let's remember that we have to answer one day to a Greater being as well! If you can play cricket for a few years then you have enough to live on and it's shameful when people have to resort to illegal methods to make money like that.
PakPassion.Net: Is Misbah the correct choice for Test captain or should a younger player be in charge?
Asim Kamal: If you look at Australia or England, they rarely have young batsmen in their ranks. They always have batsmen who are in their late 20s – people who have honed and polished their game at the domestic level so that the step up to International cricket isn’t that much of a problem. With bowlers it’s a different story as you can play a strong and young 18 year old without a problem.
Fact is that a mature batsmen is the one who performs best – Tendulkar is a shining example of a mature player who continues to perform at his best. I find it strange that we praise and adopt everything that Australians do but don’t pick on this aspect.
As far as Misbah is concerned, I have played with him and I can tell you that he is a fighter to the bone and a very fit person. Age really shouldn’t be a concern as long as he is performing.
PakPassion.Net: Finally, at the age of 34, do you think that you could still make an International comeback? If not then how do you plan to contribute to Pakistan Cricket from now on (as in coaching, etc)?
Asim Kamal: I am making a concerted effort to make a comeback in Test cricket as I feel I have at least 5 more years of cricket left in me – this is my bread and butter! Inshallah you will see that I will be successful.
As for plans in the future such as coaching, etc, I haven’t really given it much thought as it will spoil my focus on current plans. It's not a bad idea but really don’t want to think about it now!
PakPassion.Net: Thanks and on behalf of all your fans and well wishers on PakPassion.net – we wish you the best in your career.
I mean seriously nobody makes my blood boil more than this mediocre pathetic piece of trash known as Faisal Iqbal
