Slog
Senior Test Player
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2015
- Runs
- 28,984
- Post of the Week
- 1
Key Takeaways from the performance:
1) Mohammad Asif is sorely lacking in fitness: After exertions in the first innings, Asif was not considered fit enough to be able to bowl at the start of the second innings. As his teammates were getting hammered, he was in the dressing room being of no use due to his poor fitness level. Asif's fitness levels aren't enough to take him through a four day domestic match (with a day of rest no less), so its a fool's errand to even expect he is anywhere near being able to play an international match
2) Asif fails to perform when the chips are down and the pressure is on him: After leaving his teammates in the lurch as HBL put a ton of runs on the board in the second innings, Asif came back to bowl later and could not do much and went wicketless despite having a crack with the second new ball. What is even worse is that as the pressure mounted, his shoulders dropped and he was smashed all over the place by an international reject and ended up with an economy rate of 4+ runs per over.
3) Asif lacks the ruthlessness and is unable to finish the job: One of the complaints fans had in his career before was that he would often trouble the top order and take wickets but then he would just let it slip away and the lower order and tail would be allowed to score as Asif's intensity dropped after the first couple of spells. This is still a huge problem as show here. In the first innings Asif and co had HBL on the ropes at 21/6. However they managed to get to 236 and Asif totally unable to make an impact. This also points to his poor fitness that once he gets dropped and the intensity dropped his utility reduces as well.
4) Asif is a liability when the ball is not in his hand and is a poor batsmen: It is clear he adds no value outside his bowling (which in itself has issues pointed above). He was always a mediocre fielders but whats worse is that his batting is as bad as it gets. He averaged 5 in Tests before and going by his performance with the bat in the first innings he has only regressed as a batsman.
In such a situation it is clear that Asif is just not ready for an international recall either from a cricketing perspective or from a match fitness perspective. He is no longer top class asides from a first spell with the new ball in favorable conditions which you dont get often. But whats worse is that after that he is a total liability at times and severely lacks fitness. It is clear that he has a lackadaisical attitude to cricket and thinks that his natural talent is enough to coast through. However it is painfully clear he just doesnt have the requisite fitness right now for survival in the international game
1) Mohammad Asif is sorely lacking in fitness: After exertions in the first innings, Asif was not considered fit enough to be able to bowl at the start of the second innings. As his teammates were getting hammered, he was in the dressing room being of no use due to his poor fitness level. Asif's fitness levels aren't enough to take him through a four day domestic match (with a day of rest no less), so its a fool's errand to even expect he is anywhere near being able to play an international match
2) Asif fails to perform when the chips are down and the pressure is on him: After leaving his teammates in the lurch as HBL put a ton of runs on the board in the second innings, Asif came back to bowl later and could not do much and went wicketless despite having a crack with the second new ball. What is even worse is that as the pressure mounted, his shoulders dropped and he was smashed all over the place by an international reject and ended up with an economy rate of 4+ runs per over.
3) Asif lacks the ruthlessness and is unable to finish the job: One of the complaints fans had in his career before was that he would often trouble the top order and take wickets but then he would just let it slip away and the lower order and tail would be allowed to score as Asif's intensity dropped after the first couple of spells. This is still a huge problem as show here. In the first innings Asif and co had HBL on the ropes at 21/6. However they managed to get to 236 and Asif totally unable to make an impact. This also points to his poor fitness that once he gets dropped and the intensity dropped his utility reduces as well.
4) Asif is a liability when the ball is not in his hand and is a poor batsmen: It is clear he adds no value outside his bowling (which in itself has issues pointed above). He was always a mediocre fielders but whats worse is that his batting is as bad as it gets. He averaged 5 in Tests before and going by his performance with the bat in the first innings he has only regressed as a batsman.
In such a situation it is clear that Asif is just not ready for an international recall either from a cricketing perspective or from a match fitness perspective. He is no longer top class asides from a first spell with the new ball in favorable conditions which you dont get often. But whats worse is that after that he is a total liability at times and severely lacks fitness. It is clear that he has a lackadaisical attitude to cricket and thinks that his natural talent is enough to coast through. However it is painfully clear he just doesnt have the requisite fitness right now for survival in the international game
