"I threw it away. I made mistakes, I broke hearts, I upset my fans" : Mohammad Asif

[MenInG]

Pakistan: Pakistan fast-bowler, Mohammed Asif, who faced a seven-year ban from playing cricket after he was involved in a match-fixing scandal in 2010, opened up about "Nepotism" in Pakistan cricket. He said that players were being selected in Pakistan's domestic cricket based on their contacts.

The career of Asif has been like a bumpy ride. It has seen both the extremes when once he was labelled as one of the greatest swing bowler of the modern era and on other occasions he was barred from playing international cricket. Asif completed his 7-yer ban and returned to Pakistan's domestic cricket in 2018. He played his last match in November 2018 for Water And Power Development Authority in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Mohammed Asif sounded displeased with Pakistan's domestic cricket. “After participating in domestic cricket after my return I realised that there was a lot of favoritism and nepotism at play. Players were being picked based on who they knew rather than how good they were. Guys who were scoring 25 runs per innings were being labelled as great hopes and heroes. Bowlers with no performances were being given chance after chance, it was depressing and I knew people were trying to drop a hint to me to give up playing,” Asif was quoted as saying by PakPassion.net

“I wanted to continue playing, but I started to think about alternatives to playing and focused on coaching and I was asked to go to Afghanistan for a coaching stint with their young pace bowlers in 2016. However, the security situation meant that I had to decline the offer which was unfortunate as I was really looking forward to working with those youngsters,” he added.

https://news.abplive.com/sports/cri...tism-and-nepotism-in-pakistan-cricket-1459777

 

[MenInG]

Former Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif has sparked a debate over the presence of nepotism in Pakistan cricket. Known for his ability to swing the red ball both ways, Asif raised his stocks in international cricket by terrorising the best in the business. However, Asif's international career came to an abrupt halt after the pacer along with teammates Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt were accused of spot-fixing in 2010. The Pakistani fast bowler was banned for seven years for his involvement in the infamous spot-fixing scandal during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England.

Fast forwarding the clock to the present, Asif is seeking a fresh start as the tainted cricketer has opted to ply his trade in domestic cricket. Yes, out-of-favour Pakistan pacer Asif is keen on making a comeback to the national side after a 7-year-ban from playing the gentlemen's game. In one of his recent media interactions, Asif opened up about how nepotism has damaged Pakistan's domestic cricket.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Asif spoke at length about how ‘nepotism' has influenced the domestic circuit of Pakistan cricket and the pacer took a sly dig at the selectors. Recalling his recent stints in domestic cricket, Asif mentioned that there was a lot of favouritism and nepotism at play following his return to the sport.

“After participating in domestic cricket after my return I realised that there was a lot of favouritism and nepotism at play. Players were being picked based on who they knew rather than how good they were. Guys who were scoring 25 runs per innings were being labelled as great hopes and heroes. Bowlers with no performances were being given chance after chance, it was depressing and I knew people were trying to drop a hint to me to give up playing,” Asif was quoted as saying.

After getting banned from cricket for seven years, Asif was unsuccessful in making a return on the international circuit. Asif played 23 Test matches and bagged 106 wickets for Pakistan. Asif scalped 46 wickets in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and the tainted pacer has 13 dismissals to his name in T20Is.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...sif-sparks-nepotism-debate-in-pakistan/761752

 

[MenInG]

Happy Birthday to the magician!

39 years old today

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1982. One of the most skilful bowlers ever, Mohammad Asif was born in Sheikhupura <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/jIkzzG7V2s">pic.twitter.com/jIkzzG7V2s</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1472916915362353155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[sweep_shot]

He definitely thew it away. He could've been one of the best pacers ever (not just in Pakistan).

 

[James]

The dismissals in that Test match were incredible, particularly the first one to Laxman which still blows my mind 15 years later. Not sure I have seen many other balls (if any) move off the seam to that degree.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

A lot of talk about "Pakistan mein Talent bohat hai".. Well this guy was a Genuine world class talent, ready at the age of 23-24. He was a sorcerer with the ball. But he destroyed himself.
Alas!!. What could have been

 

[Afzal_K]

Always wondered why he didn't attempt to come back, how does he make money etc? Kya bowler tha

 

[Saj]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1982. One of the most skilful bowlers ever, Mohammad Asif was born in Sheikhupura <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/jIkzzG7V2s">pic.twitter.com/jIkzzG7V2s</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1472916915362353155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

These are deliveries that you can never get sick of watching.

What these wickets however don't show is how he worked over each of the batsmen, how he built pressure, how he out-thought the batsmen, how he won the mental battle.

 

[sam_ahm]

What a bowler Asif was. One of the biggest loss to international cricket, we missed out seeing more of this unbelievable talent.

 

[Saj]

Always wondered why he didn't attempt to come back, how does he make money etc? Kya bowler tha

He's been in USA for the last year or so - playing some cricket out there and doing some coaching.

 

[Savak]

A player becomes great when he gets 300-400 plus wickets. Not 100 but faces an abrupt ending.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He was an artistic and skilful bowler. I can watch his videos on repeat.

Asif was a big loss not just to Pakistan cricket but to international cricket.

 

[PakHammer]

The Nasser Hussain commentary summing up Pakistan cricket as "one minute down, one minute up" is so apt with Asif and a down moment for sure.

What could have been with Asif will remain with Pakistan fans for years.

 

[ahmadharis1]

He's been in USA for the last year or so - playing some cricket out there and doing some coaching.

Played against him in a few club matches and saw him play in some lowkey tournaments here and there. He literally tampered with the ball in the final of a tournament a few months back. Some things never change

 

[PakLFC]

Good to see him and Amir end up the way they did. I have no sympathy for cheats neither do I miss him. If ever I feel sorry for a bowler it was our other speedster Muhammad Zahid. He was set to be a great until injury shortened his career.

 

[Bewal Express]

What a bowler he was. Wasted his talent himself. I blame the lack of education for that.

Fixing isn't about the lack of education, it's the lack of morals.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Even though I had different feelings in this matter, I'm honestly done with glorifying talented crooks now.

The records of all these crooks should be expunged, the money that they made during that phase taken back from them, and doors for cricket should be permanently closed. If they want to make a living, learn a new skill, go back to school or something and make ends meet like other people.

 

[MenInG]

[VID] "Kohli is a bottom-hand player & has been scoring runs because of his good fitness" M. Asif

Mohammad Asif speaking in an interview:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 63.068%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/g14o87" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

“As I have already said, Kohli is a bottom-hand player. He has been scoring runs just because of his good fitness. As soon as there is a decline is his fitness, he won’t be able to make a comeback"

“Babar Azam is an upper-hand batsman like Sachin and he is fluent like Sachin in the way he plays his shots."

"People also say that Kohli is a better batsman than Sachin but he is nowhere near to Sachin, These are my words. He can never be like Sachin as the latter was an upper-hand player. A very few people understand these technical details"

 

[Giannis]

I saw this interview awhile back and that was an excellent observation by Asif.

 

[IAJ]

Asif said these are his words, so like others he is entitled to his opinions. He sounds very intelligent, not only in this short video but also when he has talked about bowling in past. Pity he was involved in so many scandals. Could have been a real asset.

 

[gazza619]

Asif said these are his words, so like others he is entitled to his opinions. He sounds very intelligent, not only in this short video but also when he has talked about bowling in past. Pity he was involved in so many scandals. Could have been a real asset.

It is also a pity that Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Ijaz, K Akmal, Amir, Sharjeel have all also been part of scandals/fixings, and yet they continue to be part of our set up.

Sadly there is no such thing as equality.

 

[style_guru]

There may be another Wasim, Waqar but there shall not be another Asif. The guy was something else, when it came to skill sets & understanding the nuances of the game. There is so much that young bowlers can learn from him, minus the mistakes he committed as a player himself.

As for Kohli, well his priorities aren't scoring runs anymore, but more about being a life coach. He may still score big runs occasionally, but he is way past his purple patch, & that has got nothing to do with his reflexes or fitness.

 

[boomboomcheema]

If given a chance today he would repeat those mistakes once again.

 

[Babeikh]

With ex cricketers you often get sob stories about how it is anyone and everyone's fault apart from their own when their career doesn't work out.

With Asif there is really no running away from the fact that he ended his own career for his own stupidity, greed and corruption.

 

[Savak]

Mohammad Asif speaking in an interview:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 63.068%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/g14o87" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

“As I have already said, Kohli is a bottom-hand player. He has been scoring runs just because of his good fitness. As soon as there is a decline is his fitness, he won’t be able to make a comeback"

“Babar Azam is an upper-hand batsman like Sachin and he is fluent like Sachin in the way he plays his shots."

"People also say that Kohli is a better batsman than Sachin but he is nowhere near to Sachin, These are my words. He can never be like Sachin as the latter was an upper-hand player. A very few people understand these technical details"

This guy had the best bowling brain we ever produced, these are things which just cannot be taught. Sadly he was extremely dumb off the field.

 

[Saj]

This guy had the best bowling brain we ever produced, these are things which just cannot be taught. Sadly he was extremely dumb off the field.

This interview in OP took a long time to organise. It was all about when Asif was ready to do it and in the mood to speak from the heart. It was fascinating to speak with him.

I was amazed at this guy's cricketing knowledge, his awareness about bowling, his knowledge about the mental side of the game, his awareness of how to work out a batter.

Such a shame how things ended.

 

[Savak]

This interview in OP took a long time to organise. It was all about when Asif was ready to do it and in the mood to speak from the heart. It was fascinating to speak with him.

I was amazed at this guy's cricketing knowledge, his awareness about bowling, his knowledge about the mental side of the game, his awareness of how to work out a batter.

Such a shame how things ended.

I hope he can be encouraged to take up a bowling coach role at the NHPC. Don't see that happening under RR given his stance on tainted players.

 

[realitygaf]

This interview in OP took a long time to organise. It was all about when Asif was ready to do it and in the mood to speak from the heart. It was fascinating to speak with him.

I was amazed at this guy's cricketing knowledge, his awareness about bowling, his knowledge about the mental side of the game, his awareness of how to work out a batter.

Such a shame how things ended.

If PCB won't hire him, I am sure a publisher will sponsor a book of bowling knowledge

 

[Saj]

I hope he can be encouraged to take up a bowling coach role at the NHPC. Don't see that happening under RR given his stance on tainted players.

I'd be surprised if PCB offers him a role in the near future. In fact it might be the case that PCB never offers him a coaching role.

I know he had plans to work in USA and was planning to set up a cricket academy out there.

 

[Savak]

I'd be surprised if PCB offers him a role in the near future. In fact it might be the case that PCB never offers him a coaching role.

I know he had plans to work in USA and was planning to set up a cricket academy out there.

Good Luck to him. It is perhaps the smartest thing he has ever done. He knew there was no future for him in Pakistan Cricket anymore. Therefore rather than cry about injustice in the Pakistani media and begging for a handout from the PCB, he took matters into his own hands by moving to the US who have welcomed him with open arms.

 

[Giannis]

I hope he can be encouraged to take up a bowling coach role at the NHPC. Don't see that happening under RR given his stance on tainted players.

He lives in Chicago now, he's not going back cause he feels like he's better respected by the Pakistani community in America than back in Pakistan where gets heckled everytime he takes the field.

 

[Saj]

Good Luck to him. It is perhaps the smartest thing he has ever done. He knew there was no future for him in Pakistan Cricket anymore. Therefore rather than cry about injustice in the Pakistani media and begging for a handout from the PCB, he took matters into his own hands by moving to the US who have welcomed him with open arms.

He's been going there for a few years, played in some leagues out there and built some friendships with guys who are involved in USA Cricket. As I say he's very keen to carry on playing, do some coaching out there and eventually set up an academy with a few friends of his.

Who knows, maybe one day he'll be coaching for the USA National Board.

 

[hitthestump]

He lives in Chicago now, he's not going back cause he feels like he's better respected by the Pakistani community in America than back in Pakistan where gets heckled everytime he takes the field.

It sounds like that just like his fellow fixer Amir he's taking the easy way out.

Asif could be assured that the heckles would stop if he simply offered to help our upcoming fast bowlers. Just like Amir would be still respected if he actually gave his all to play for Pakistan.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

I wanted to play cricket professionally from a young age and had my mind set on being a professional cricketer even when I was at school when most other boys were concentrating on their studies. I had a passion for the game right from my school days before going on to play club cricket in my home city of Sheikhupura for the Gymkhana club when I was just 15 years of age. I was lucky to have been blessed with a lot of talent which meant that for most of my early years in cricket I was playing against players who were a couple of years older than me and this continued right up to the Regional Under-19 level before I progressed to First-Class cricket.


The things I learnt at the start of my career at Sheikhupura Gymkhana helped me throughout my career. They were difficult, yet enjoyable days and it was a tough environment to exist in, where you had to be a damn good bowler even to get into the starting XIs at Sheikhupura. Nothing came easy to me and I had to work hard to get where I was. There were guys like Rana Naved, Jaffar Nazir and many other pace-bowlers from that area who were all competing for places, so to get into that team was an achievement in itself. I believe that competitive environment really helped me develop as a bowler and I learnt the value of hard work from a young age. I would turn up a couple of hours before scheduled practice sessions and work with the coaches and if nobody was around, then I would just head to the nets and bowl delivery after delivery. We played twenty over cricket on cement pitches with short boundaries and they were conditions which were ideal for batting, so as a bowler if you didn’t know how to swing the ball or were unable to bowl skilfully and with variety you would get smashed all over the park. Those were the days where I feel I learnt a lot about myself and quickly learnt the art of bowling and handling pressure.


I had a routine, where ahead of the commencement of any season, I would start practising a month or two in advance, even when the temperatures were very hot. It helped build my stamina and meant that I could bowl long spells if needed throughout the season as I always felt that strength and stamina should never be underestimated as a pace-bowler. Also, my practice regime was different to most bowlers in that I would concentrate on one delivery all day. One day would be a day where I just bowled outswingers and tried to perfect that delivery, another day it would be inswingers, another day it would be bouncers or yorkers. It was a tough training regime that really worked for me throughout my career.


I played in the North West of England for Ainsdale cricket club near Liverpool and that was a great experience. I was just a young man, learning about life, in a foreign land on my own. It was daunting at times, yet very enjoyable. I was there playing as an overseas professional and carrying the hopes of my team and I was expected to earn every penny and ensure that the club got their money’s worth from me. I learnt a lot when playing club cricket in England and had to mature quickly, whilst at the same time it taught me a lot of things about life, about people and it was an experience that I always look back on with interest. I always recommend playing club cricket overseas to young bowlers as it really does help in your development. I feel that too many of the young Pakistani bowlers of today are pampered and miss out on their development by not playing club cricket in the United Kingdom.


On my first senior international tour in Australia in 2005, there weren’t many coaches with the team and as a junior bowler I was the one who was given the duty of doing a lot of bowling in the nets. When I had bowled for an hour to one batsman, the next one would be ready. It was searing heat and it felt as if my back was going to break. It was no surprise that when my chance finally came for my debut in Sydney, I ended-up with figures of 0 for 88. Nowadays touring squads have so many coaches with them which means that the junior bowlers are well looked-after, but back in my day there was no hiding place as a young bowler when you were looking to make a name for yourself.


There were plenty of memorable moments in my career, but the match that I feel was vital for me and put me on the right path in my international career was when I took 7 wickets in just my third Test match in 2006 against India in Karachi, and which helped Pakistan win by 341 runs. Prior to this Test match I had played 2 Tests and had bowled poorly, taking only 1 wicket and the knives were already out despite being only 23 years old and many felt that I wasn’t good enough for international cricket. During that match in Karachi I took the wickets of Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, VVS Laxman twice, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. I feel that this was the match where I showed everyone what I was capable of and when the world realised that Mohammad Asif had arrived.


It’s a matter of great pride for me that many of my wickets were top-order batsmen. I wasn’t a bowler who feasted on taking the cheap wickets of tail-enders to boost my statistics. In fact, my new-ball spells would quite often set us up as a team and allow the other bowlers to clean up the middle and lower-order. I came up against some fantastic opponents who were some of the greats of the game. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were formidable opponents as they wanted to dominate the bowlers and were always looking to attack you. I always felt they presented a different challenge to many other batsmen particularly in Test cricket and bowling to such greats was a challenge that I relished.


My philosophy as a bowler always was that if you don’t quickly work out a batsman, then he will work you out very soon, and that you always had to be one step ahead of the batsman and had to outsmart him. I always prepared ahead of a match and came into a match knowing the strengths and weaknesses of my opponents, and I didn’t like leaving anything to chance. I enjoyed the challenge that the likes of Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist presented and whilst I knew that they had the ability to play incredible shots and could hit me around a bit, the fact was that I had that knowledge and self-belief that sooner or later I would get them out. Patience was important to me as a bowler and that is something that I feel is lacking in many modern-day bowlers. They want to bowl six magic deliveries an over, forgetting that you have to set-up a batsman and sometimes lull them into a false sense of security, and then strike when the batsman least expects it.


There will always be remorse about what happened and my subsequent ban. I was playing a sport that I loved, a sport that I had always dreamt of playing. I was playing at the highest level for my country and I couldn’t have wished for anything more, but then I threw it away. I made mistakes, I broke hearts, I upset my fans, but we all make mistakes in life and have regrets. I was the main bowler in the Pakistan side, I was at the top of my game and known throughout the world as a dangerous opponent and highly respected by batsmen, but I lost it all. I definitely regret what happened and wholeheartedly apologise to my fans and cricket lovers around the world for my actions and for the hurt I caused.


I was always confident about my abilities and working with the Late Bob Woolmer further instilled an attitude in me where I didn’t fear any opponent. He filled me with self-belief and told me never to fear or worry about batsmen, rather let batsmen worry about what I could do with the ball. His coaching took me to the next level as a bowler and his guidance was very beneficial to me. The difference with me and many of today’s bowlers is that too many bowlers bowl to the wicket-keeper and are satisfied with maiden overs or the ball continually hitting the wicket-keeper’s gloves. My theory was that it was all about bowling at the stumps and making the batsman play as much as possible. To me, it was all about the wickets column and not about maiden overs or wasted deliveries that the batsman could just leave.


A lot of people offered me advice during my career, most of which was useless. I always felt that a lot of the advice you get over the course of your career is of no use. In my experience, only one in ten pieces of advice given to me was useful, and the rest of it was ignored by me - it went into one ear, and out of the other ear. The best pieces of advice to me as a bowler were from players or coaches who had experience of certain grounds and told me how the surface would behave over the course of a day or during the 5 days of a Test match. I was always a free spirit and felt that if I needed to rely too much on advice from others then I wouldn’t develop as a cricketer or be able to think for myself. Those cricketers who need too much coaching or advice will never succeed.


The dressing room spat with Shoaib Akhtar in 2007 was an incident that Shoaib Akhtar has lived-off for 13 years. He has made so many comments about it and has kept on bringing it up whenever he can. Well, I had had enough, so I called him up recently and told him to shut up about the incident and move on from it. I told him to get over what happened, it’s history now. Instead of talking about that incident in every interview, I told him to talk sense, talk about how he can help young cricketers in Pakistan. One day he’s dreaming of being the Chief Selector, the next day he’s dreaming about being Pakistan’s Head Coach or Chairman PCB, he needs to get back to reality and actually focus on helping young cricketers instead of chatting about something that happened more than 13 years ago.


When I came back to cricket after my ban, I knew that I still had the skills and ability to play international cricket. At the time I said that a fish never forgets to swim, and I showed that with my impressive form in domestic cricket for WAPDA. I was bowling well and utilising my experience and I was still full of confidence. In fact, I was bowling so well at that I felt that I was like an adult bowling to kids in domestic cricket. I was toying with batsmen at the domestic level and Inzamam-ul-Haq called me up and said to me that I would be called up for a training camp for the national side. However, the Pakistan Super League fixing controversy of 2017 put paid to my future selection for Pakistan and that was that. The selectors ended up picking bowlers like Wahab Riaz who had not even taken half the number of wickets I had that domestic season and that was both heart-breaking and frustrating.


After participating in domestic cricket after my return I realised that there was a lot of favouritism and nepotism at play. Players were being picked based on who they knew rather than how good they were. Guys who were scoring 25 runs per innings were being labelled as great hopes and heroes. Bowlers with no performances were being given chance after chance, it was depressing and I knew people were trying to drop a hint to me to give up playing. I wanted to continue playing, but I started to think about alternatives to playing and focussed on coaching and I was asked to go to Afghanistan for a coaching stint with their young pace bowlers in 2016. However, the security situation meant that I had to decline the offer which was unfortunate as I was really looking forward to working with those youngsters.


I still get messages from fans all over the world saying that there will never be another Mohammad Asif and that makes me happy and proud. They say I made fast-bowling an art and that is what I wanted to do. For me bowling was about utilising your skills, not just about running in all day and breaking your back. There were bowlers who I called labourers, the type who bowled 25 overs a day and took 1 wicket, well, I wasn’t one of them. If I bowled 20 to 25 overs a day, I made sure that I had taken at least 4 or 5 wickets. For me, fast-bowling was all about skill, it was sorcery, it was an art, it was like a game of chess where you mesmerised the batsmen and you outmanoeuvred, out-thought and out-planned them.


These days I play club cricket around the world. I’ve played in Norway and more recently I’ve been playing in the United States. I’m available to play club cricket wherever teams want my services and I also do some coaching during those tournaments. I get a sense of joy and satisfaction teaching young cricketers about the art of pace-bowling. I plan to open a Cricket Academy in the United States with my friend Gurtej Singh who is keen to develop cricket in America and who has been hosting tournaments for several years out there. Let’s see what the future holds, I’m not someone who plans long-term, but coaching and working with young cricketers in an academy environment is something that I really enjoy.


When I look back at my career, despite the ban, whatever I achieved as a cricketer makes me proud. I want fans to always remember me as a thinking-bowler, with skill and intelligence, who fully tested batsmen. What makes me happy is when fans come up to me and say I remember the ball you bowled to get VVS Laxman out, or the ball that you bowled to Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag or Kevin Pietersen. I get great joy and satisfaction from the fact that young swing bowlers still watch my videos for inspiration and for coaching tips. What really makes me very happy is when young bowlers approach me and say that what they really hope for in their career is to one day be able to bowl like me.

Mohd Asif was a great Bowler, he was the biggest loss. He came from humble background and was blessed with an extraordinary talent and skill.
Blame also lies with the PCB, for not doing enough. PCB did little to keep corrupt individuals like Mazhar Majeed far away from the side. ‘News of the World' sting operation, had an inside source in the side. Somebody (a player or support staff) that gave the tip. That tip should have gone to PCB and PCB should have made sure that no such thing ever took place. PCB in turn should have rewarded the tipster monetarily.
BTW also think that tipster was a sell out too. He threw his own team under the bus for money. But alas

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CeIf_mfOQjS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); widthlc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CeIf_mfOQjS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decorationne; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-spacewrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CeIf_mfOQjS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weightrmal; line-height:17px; text-decorationne;" target="_blank">A post shared by Rumman Raees khan (@rumman5550)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

 

[TheSultan]

There may be another Wasim, Waqar but there shall not be another Asif. The guy was something else, when it came to skill sets & understanding the nuances of the game. There is so much that young bowlers can learn from him, minus the mistakes he committed as a player himself.

As for Kohli, well his priorities aren't scoring runs anymore, but more about being a life coach. He may still score big runs occasionally, but he is way past his purple patch, & that has got nothing to do with his reflexes or fitness.

Ugh - it’s this type of romanticism really annoys me. Yes he was good, but to say there will be another wasim and not another asif is taking it to another extreme.

I can understand this statement about wasim - he could literally do everything with the ball. Many have tried to be the next wasim but they haven’t succeeded. Anderson has perfected the wobble seam (which was Asif’s speciality), apart from that there was nothing else unique about asif when it came to skill set. Yes Asif had a great mind too, but many bowlers the world over have that.

I think people get lost in the “what could have been” about asif, but a lot of people also forget he was going the way of Abbas too - losing pace very quickly - probably why he was on the juice too to counter it.

 

[DRsohail]

Had the ability to be among the best bowlers of his time. Far better than some previous pretenders who always choked in World Cups against us. Unfortunately, threw it all away

performance against India is not the only parameter. He was getting worse and in his last series he was bang average.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Asif cross path in US; former Pakistan pacer shares photo

Mohammad Asif was attending the season two of the Unity Cup Tournament held in Virginia, where he passed a few bowling tips to aspiring cricketers.

The India vs Pakistan cricketing folklore has now been limited to ICC events, with the last encounter played in the T20 World Cup last year. However, this wasn't the case always as both used to engage in bilateral series.

Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and pacer Mohammad Asif, who were part of that era, recently crossed paths in USA.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Friendship have no limits. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YuvrajSingh?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YuvrajSingh</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ICC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/unitycup2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#unitycup2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/VJ0u5U7z3Z">pic.twitter.com/VJ0u5U7z3Z</a></p>— Muhammad Asif (@MuhammadAsif_26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MuhammadAsif_26/status/1531316526959185922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Asif was attending the season two of the Unity Cup Tournament held in Virginia, where he passed a few bowling tips to aspiring cricketers.

The 39-year-old pacer has made 72 international appearances for his country in which he has claimed 165 wickets. However, Asif career trajectory took a drastic U-turn after he was charged of spot-fixing in 2010. The incident took place during a Test match between Pakistan and England at Lord's, where he bowled pre-planned deliveries and deliberate no-balls, for which he was handed a seven-year-ban.

Yuvraj, on the other hand, had a glorious career with the Men In Blue and is among the rarest batters to hit six sixes in an over. The 40-year-old had achieved the feat in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup against Stuart Broad. Apart from this he was part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007 and the ICC World Cup-winning team in 2011.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...n-pacer-shares-photo-101654164163665-amp.html

 

[MenInG]

"Everyone had said they had seen such a bowler after decades. Talent wasted': Wasim Akram on M Asif

Throughout their cricket history, Pakistan have enjoyed an incredible fast bowling strength. While the duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis ruled the roost in the 1990s, speedster Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, and Mohammad Asif among others emerged in the early 2000s and enjoyed significant success in the international cricket. Currently, Pakistan boast of one of the leading fast bowlers in the world in Shaheen Afridi.


In 2010, however, a match-fixing scandal struck Pakistan cricket which brought the downfall of two of the side's leading pacers at the time; Asif and Mohammad Amir. While the latter later returned to international cricket, Asif's career ended after the fixing scandal. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram opened up on the incident during a YouTube show, insisting that Asif “wasted” his talent.

“Yeah, everyone raved about Mohammad Asif. Talent wasted, no doubt,” Akram said on ‘To Be Honest’ on a YouTube channel.

“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.”
|
Akram further said that he hadn't met Mohammad Asif for a long time, and even if he meets him, he wouldn't be angry at him anymore.

“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,” said the Pakistan legend, who took 414 wickets in Tests, and 502 wickets in the fifty-over format for the side.

Asif, meanwhile, represented Pakistan between 2005-2010, appearing in 23 Tests, 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is for the side. The right-arm pacer had 106 wickets in the longest format of the game, 46 in ODIs and 13 in T20Is.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...er-decades-talent-wasted-101656046799951.html

 

[Titan24]

Was undoubtedly my favorite bowler during his time due to his skills mainly and naturally bit of Pak cricket bias.

When someone can deliver a slightly wobbly delivery and gets the ball to land on the seam and make it go in and away from that very line and length then even the best of the world can rarely do anything about it as there is no hint or anything to figure out where Asif's delivery will go after pitching. Add to it his good height (Something which plays a huge role in the kind of bowler he was making it difficult for batsmen to consistently stand out of the crease), intelligence, the confident aura when he had the ball and pace in around mid 130s, he made some of the best dance around.

Surely was once in a generation bowler. An unfortunate end but, keeping the dark aspects aside he will be remembered for the skills he possessed. Purely as a cricket fan, would love to again see a bowler even with half the caliber and skills Asif had in his style of bowling. We naturally do get that adrenaline rush when we see a 150kph bowler but, a seamer who had the ability to setup the batsmen and then completely bamboozle them with skills alone is like a very fine art.

 

[MenInG]

Mohammad Asif still out in the USA doing coaching assignments.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 80%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/6zvebz" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

 

[wrongun]

Was undoubtedly my favorite bowler during his time due to his skills mainly and naturally bit of Pak cricket bias.

When someone can deliver a slightly wobbly delivery and gets the ball to land on the seam and make it go in and away from that very line and length then even the best of the world can rarely do anything about it as there is no hint or anything to figure out where Asif's delivery will go after pitching. Add to it his good height (Something which plays a huge role in the kind of bowler he was making it difficult for batsmen to consistently stand out of the crease), intelligence, the confident aura when he had the ball and pace in around mid 130s, he made some of the best dance around.

Surely was once in a generation bowler. An unfortunate end but, keeping the dark aspects aside he will be remembered for the skills he possessed. Purely as a cricket fan, would love to again see a bowler even with half the caliber and skills Asif had in his style of bowling. We naturally do get that adrenaline rush when we see a 150kph bowler but, a seamer who had the ability to setup the batsmen and then completely bamboozle them with skills alone is like a very fine art.

He was in the McGrath ballpark of skills and bowling IQ, just applied them with a little bit more razzamatazz whereas McGrath applied them carefully with patience.

 

[ElRaja]

ironic that of the tainted trio hes pbly the most likeable now. he's done the time, and rarely complains or bad mouths anyone, a franchise should pick him up as a bowling consultant, was a great bowling brain.

 

[hitthestump]

ironic that of the tainted trio hes pbly the most likeable now. he's done the time, and rarely complains or bad mouths anyone, a franchise should pick him up as a bowling consultant, was a great bowling brain.

They're all unlikeable individuals. Butt came from a cushy background and has a cushy job as a TV analyst.

Amir has ditched his country completely in order to chase money.

Asif is very comfortable out in America.

None of them are giving anything back to their country. None of them are concerned to make up for what they did. Amir is the only one who gave us a trophy but really that is a drop in the ocean compared to the career we missed out on.

 

[muqarrab]

They're all unlikeable individuals. Butt came from a cushy background and has a cushy job as a TV analyst.

Amir has ditched his country completely in order to chase money.

Asif is very comfortable out in America.

None of them are giving anything back to their country. None of them are concerned to make up for what they did. Amir is the only one who gave us a trophy but really that is a drop in the ocean compared to the career we missed out on.

I don't think Asif is very comfortable in his current circumstances.

 

[Saj]

I don't think Asif is very comfortable in his current circumstances.

Last time I spoke with him he did say that he would like to work in Pakistan cricket if they wanted him to.

I'm not sure whether that has changed now because he's been in USA a while now.

 

[Minnowbasher]

They're all unlikeable individuals. Butt came from a cushy background and has a cushy job as a TV analyst.

Amir has ditched his country completely in order to chase money.

Asif is very comfortable out in America.

None of them are giving anything back to their country. None of them are concerned to make up for what they did. Amir is the only one who gave us a trophy but really that is a drop in the ocean compared to the career we missed out on.

Problem is country is also really toxic with them. If team wasn't winning matches under asifs coaching fans would blame the fact that he's a fixer etc.

The Amir situation definitely has more to it than face value although I agree I'm also disappointed in him for ditching pakistan.

 

[Savak]

Let's see if Asif can make a difference as a coach in the US. If he does that then he can create pressure for a coaching spot in Pakistan.

 

[Mahee]

skill wise and talent wise, Asif was world's greatest pace bowler after Glenn McGrath....but he sold himself and his country.

 

[Saj]

He's going through a divorce.

Whilst he went to USA, his wife remained in Pakistan.

 

[MenInG]

Mohammad Asif as bowling coach for the U19s would be great! Should be given due consideration

 

[Savak]

He's going through a divorce.

Whilst he went to USA, his wife remained in Pakistan.

Not sure if this is true, he just posted pics of his wife and kids enjoying a meal in a restaurant

 

[Saj]

Not sure if this is true, he just posted pics of his wife and kids enjoying a meal in a restaurant

A couple of days ago he told me he's going through a divorce.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

skill wise and talent wise, Asif was world's greatest pace bowler after Glenn McGrath....but he sold himself and his country.

Massively overrated if anyone compares him to Mcgrath. He was a good bowler but was nowhere near Pidge

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Question: If you could name one bowler to bowl for your life?<br><br>AB de Villiers: Mohammad Asif<a href="https://t.co/PQk3kKBiKE">pic.twitter.com/PQk3kKBiKE</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1638260181892059143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Saj]

Got to be a good bowler if ABdV and KP sing your praises.

Huge loss to Pakistan cricket.

 

[ElRaja]

still hurts so much, he could cut a cricket ball like he was bowling leg spin or off spin at 80 mph, evolved modern seam bowling with his scrambled seam, obviously he screwed up and threw everything away. technically the most complete seam bowler Pakistan produced.

 

[hitthestump]

Got to be a good bowler if ABdV and KP sing your praises.

Huge loss to Pakistan cricket.

He can still help out. He seemingly has never offered his services to Pakistan cricket. I guess we don't know the ins and outs but i find it very hard to believe he couldn't find a useful gig.

What was strange is that none of the Fixer 3 come across as if they feel they owed anything to the country they let down. I guess it comes with the territory.

 

[Babeikh]

He can still help out. He seemingly has never offered his services to Pakistan cricket. I guess we don't know the ins and outs but i find it very hard to believe he couldn't find a useful gig.

What was strange is that none of the Fixer 3 come across as if they feel they owed anything to the country they let down. I guess it comes with the territory.

I wouldn't want Asif anywhere near our young cricketers.

Agree with your second point - out of the three Asif has kept the lowest profile and generally just kept his mouth shut whereas Amir and Butt have actually stomped around with a sense of entitlement as if the whole world owes them something.

 

[Saj]

He can still help out. He seemingly has never offered his services to Pakistan cricket. I guess we don't know the ins and outs but i find it very hard to believe he couldn't find a useful gig.

What was strange is that none of the Fixer 3 come across as if they feel they owed anything to the country they let down. I guess it comes with the territory.

He's been in the USA the last few years. Initially playing but now coaching.

I think the PCB at that time made it clear to him that they wouldn't offer him any work.