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This 26 year old right arm pacer has done extremely well in domestic cricket, this year. Ali Imran Pasha turned heads enough that he got a selection for the Pakistan 'A' team tour to Dubai.
Ali Imran Pasha opens the bowling for PIA and has made a spot in the team as one of their opening bowlers. In 41 first class matches, Ali already has a stunning bowling average of 25.72 and has taken 149 wickets.
Speaking with PakPassion.Net, Ali Imran Pasha discussed how he got into cricket, his experience in Dubai and his career aspirations.
Full name: Ali Imran Pasha
Born: July 18, 1985, Gujranwala, Punjab
Current age: 26 years 197 days
Major teams: Gujranwala, Pakistan International Airlines,Pakistan Under-19s, Quetta, Quetta Bears, Sialkot,Sialkot Stallions
Height: 6' 1''
Favourite Bowlers: Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
How I got into cricket: I began playing cricket with my brothers and sisters. After that, I joined club cricket and from there I went into under 19 cricket. From there, I topped in the regional under 19 from which I ended up playing with the Pakistan under 19 team. I played the world cup for Pakistan about 4-5 years ago and then I played a few incomplete seasons. This is the first season where I am playing a full season and I have done well.
Who spotted me: Aaqib Javed was the one. First, I was in the academy with the under 19s and I performed well there. He selected the top 5 names in that group and put them on the board, one of the names was mine. From there, my name was forwarded so that I could play for the Pakistan under 19 team. My name was also mentioned prior the world cup in his interviews.
Department team: I play for PIA and PIA have lot of players who have already played international Cricket, Almost, all of the senior Pakistani bowlers were there. Guys like Fazl-e-Akbar, Najaf Shah, Aizaz Cheema and Anwar Ali. I was basically a supporting bowler for them until last year. This season I have played all of the matches, so I have kept performing well. Before, I used to perform well, but the seniors would end up getting priority because they have been performing as well. Luckily, I have played all of the matches this season and that gave me lot of confidence. I even got a hat trick in one of the games. I have also got 5 five wicket hauls and 1 ten wicket haul. I had 60 wickets in total from 10 matches.
Changes to Bowling: I didn't make many changes. I did what I used to do. This season I was more assured, I kept playing and kept doing well. There was no point in the season where I was scared whether I would play or not. Right in the first match, I took 7 wickets and at that point I knew I would be able to play all of the matches. I just had that confidence in my bowling and it kept increasing as I bowled more.
Playing with Pakistani international cricketers: Yes, my bowling coach Fazl-e-Akbar has told me a lot of things. Topics like the situations and conditions. He's given me a lot of confidence. Since, I have joined PIA, I have talked a lot about cricket with.
Description of my bowling: Well, I am a right arm fast bowler. Naturally, I get the ball to swing in, but I can get outswing, as well. Still, naturally I get the inswing. When the ball gets old, I can get reverse swing. I bowl at the speed of 140 KPH.
Toughest Domestic batsman: Honestly, I don't find any batsman too difficult. If you are bowling well, no matter what batsman is there, you do well. The same goes when you aren't doing well, no matter who the batsman, you lose control and confidence. So, I haven't really found any specific batsman who has caused problems. Still, I think Afaq Raheem from Islamabad has been good and his batting is solid. He was the highest scorer [1088 runs, 54.40 Avg], this season. When you bowl to him, he seems to have a lot of time to play the ball. He tends to easily manage the bowling. Despite him, I don't think anyone has caused many issues.
Most memorable performance: The match against Abbotabad, where I got that hat trick I was talking about before. Plus, in that match I took 12 wickets, so that was a good performance. In fact, it was my career's best performance. There was also the match against Karachi, I didn't take many wickets, but I got a lot of reverse swing in that match. There was also a match against Zarai TBL, where I got reverse swing. So, those were the three matches that were memorable for me season wise and career wise.
Upcoming future: At the moment, I have a bruise on my bone. I had just gone to Dubai for the Pakistan team tour, I have been suggested four weeks rest. So far, it's been two weeks and I have a little bit left. Inshallah, I will get a call for the Asia cup. My name was in the Pentangular Cup for Punjab, but I was obviously unable to bowl due to the injury. I will start bowling again a week or two.
Disappointment with Injury: Yes, I went to Dubai and was bowling very well there. Unfortunately, I got this injury and I have ended up missing that opportunity with the Pentangular Cup. So, it does come to mind, but I guess Allah knows best. Due to Allah's will, I have been able to perform well, so hopefully I will be able to do well as we move on. The main goal right now is reaching peak fitness and make my comeback again. We still have the one day domestic competition upcoming and I will be able to prove my fitness there. Hopefully, the selectors see my name as suitable for the team, I will get selected.
Central Contract: Last year, those that performed in domestic cricket were given central contracts. So, Inshallah I hope my name will come in the central contracts. Last year, the top four or five performers from domestic cricket were given those central contracts.
Confidence with 'A' Team Selection: Confidence has indeed gone very high. The fact I went to that level and saw how cricket is played there, so my confidence indeed went up. I think domestic cricket is harder in comparison to that cricket, due to the discipline in that cricket. I got to see how the English played. That cricket is much easier as long as you are mentally strong and are able to handle the pressure. Only then, you have a good chance of performing well.
Experience on 'A' Team Tour: Playing for Pakistan is a dream. All you keep wishing about is that you could stay there and play cricket. You also get hopeful and see a target in front of you, you start thinking about where you are going to bowl to each batsman. All because you want to make an name for yourself. You tend to get inspired when you share the field with those players. You get to learn and the coaches are great, it's just an terrific atmosphere.
My Own Fitness: In the last two or three years, I have worked very hard on my fitness. I played cricket in England and did training over there at the gym. So, for the past two or three years, my fitness has generally been pretty good. I have been bowling a lot of long spells, recently. Bowling for an hour or an hour and half, at a time. Fitness has been good, it's just the recent matches that I played on an uneven and bumpy ground that led to the injury. Otherwise, my fitness has been great for the past few years.
U19 World Cup Experience: It was a memorable time as I was representing the Pakistani team at that level. It was also the first time in history that Pakistan had become champions at that level. So, it was no doubt a historical and memorable moment. It was also a big step in coming into professional cricket and reaching that level. In that world cup, I bowled really well, I was bowling very fast, some were saying that I was bowling at 150 KPH. It was definitely a memorable part of my life. Confidence was sky high at that time for me, you could have brought Tendulkar in front and one could have got him out. This was the type of confidence that I had. The match against India was good, the feeling and the crowd really got the blood pumping. You just wanted to show them what you were made of. It was very fun to play in that match. The first few ball were full of pressure, but after that everything went became normal, in fact I became more aggressive. The crowd was really great and I enjoyed it, thoroughly.
Ali Imran Pasha opens the bowling for PIA and has made a spot in the team as one of their opening bowlers. In 41 first class matches, Ali already has a stunning bowling average of 25.72 and has taken 149 wickets.
Speaking with PakPassion.Net, Ali Imran Pasha discussed how he got into cricket, his experience in Dubai and his career aspirations.
Full name: Ali Imran Pasha
Born: July 18, 1985, Gujranwala, Punjab
Current age: 26 years 197 days
Major teams: Gujranwala, Pakistan International Airlines,Pakistan Under-19s, Quetta, Quetta Bears, Sialkot,Sialkot Stallions
Height: 6' 1''
Favourite Bowlers: Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
How I got into cricket: I began playing cricket with my brothers and sisters. After that, I joined club cricket and from there I went into under 19 cricket. From there, I topped in the regional under 19 from which I ended up playing with the Pakistan under 19 team. I played the world cup for Pakistan about 4-5 years ago and then I played a few incomplete seasons. This is the first season where I am playing a full season and I have done well.
Who spotted me: Aaqib Javed was the one. First, I was in the academy with the under 19s and I performed well there. He selected the top 5 names in that group and put them on the board, one of the names was mine. From there, my name was forwarded so that I could play for the Pakistan under 19 team. My name was also mentioned prior the world cup in his interviews.
Department team: I play for PIA and PIA have lot of players who have already played international Cricket, Almost, all of the senior Pakistani bowlers were there. Guys like Fazl-e-Akbar, Najaf Shah, Aizaz Cheema and Anwar Ali. I was basically a supporting bowler for them until last year. This season I have played all of the matches, so I have kept performing well. Before, I used to perform well, but the seniors would end up getting priority because they have been performing as well. Luckily, I have played all of the matches this season and that gave me lot of confidence. I even got a hat trick in one of the games. I have also got 5 five wicket hauls and 1 ten wicket haul. I had 60 wickets in total from 10 matches.
Changes to Bowling: I didn't make many changes. I did what I used to do. This season I was more assured, I kept playing and kept doing well. There was no point in the season where I was scared whether I would play or not. Right in the first match, I took 7 wickets and at that point I knew I would be able to play all of the matches. I just had that confidence in my bowling and it kept increasing as I bowled more.
Playing with Pakistani international cricketers: Yes, my bowling coach Fazl-e-Akbar has told me a lot of things. Topics like the situations and conditions. He's given me a lot of confidence. Since, I have joined PIA, I have talked a lot about cricket with.
Description of my bowling: Well, I am a right arm fast bowler. Naturally, I get the ball to swing in, but I can get outswing, as well. Still, naturally I get the inswing. When the ball gets old, I can get reverse swing. I bowl at the speed of 140 KPH.
Toughest Domestic batsman: Honestly, I don't find any batsman too difficult. If you are bowling well, no matter what batsman is there, you do well. The same goes when you aren't doing well, no matter who the batsman, you lose control and confidence. So, I haven't really found any specific batsman who has caused problems. Still, I think Afaq Raheem from Islamabad has been good and his batting is solid. He was the highest scorer [1088 runs, 54.40 Avg], this season. When you bowl to him, he seems to have a lot of time to play the ball. He tends to easily manage the bowling. Despite him, I don't think anyone has caused many issues.
Most memorable performance: The match against Abbotabad, where I got that hat trick I was talking about before. Plus, in that match I took 12 wickets, so that was a good performance. In fact, it was my career's best performance. There was also the match against Karachi, I didn't take many wickets, but I got a lot of reverse swing in that match. There was also a match against Zarai TBL, where I got reverse swing. So, those were the three matches that were memorable for me season wise and career wise.
Upcoming future: At the moment, I have a bruise on my bone. I had just gone to Dubai for the Pakistan team tour, I have been suggested four weeks rest. So far, it's been two weeks and I have a little bit left. Inshallah, I will get a call for the Asia cup. My name was in the Pentangular Cup for Punjab, but I was obviously unable to bowl due to the injury. I will start bowling again a week or two.
Disappointment with Injury: Yes, I went to Dubai and was bowling very well there. Unfortunately, I got this injury and I have ended up missing that opportunity with the Pentangular Cup. So, it does come to mind, but I guess Allah knows best. Due to Allah's will, I have been able to perform well, so hopefully I will be able to do well as we move on. The main goal right now is reaching peak fitness and make my comeback again. We still have the one day domestic competition upcoming and I will be able to prove my fitness there. Hopefully, the selectors see my name as suitable for the team, I will get selected.
Central Contract: Last year, those that performed in domestic cricket were given central contracts. So, Inshallah I hope my name will come in the central contracts. Last year, the top four or five performers from domestic cricket were given those central contracts.
Confidence with 'A' Team Selection: Confidence has indeed gone very high. The fact I went to that level and saw how cricket is played there, so my confidence indeed went up. I think domestic cricket is harder in comparison to that cricket, due to the discipline in that cricket. I got to see how the English played. That cricket is much easier as long as you are mentally strong and are able to handle the pressure. Only then, you have a good chance of performing well.
Experience on 'A' Team Tour: Playing for Pakistan is a dream. All you keep wishing about is that you could stay there and play cricket. You also get hopeful and see a target in front of you, you start thinking about where you are going to bowl to each batsman. All because you want to make an name for yourself. You tend to get inspired when you share the field with those players. You get to learn and the coaches are great, it's just an terrific atmosphere.
My Own Fitness: In the last two or three years, I have worked very hard on my fitness. I played cricket in England and did training over there at the gym. So, for the past two or three years, my fitness has generally been pretty good. I have been bowling a lot of long spells, recently. Bowling for an hour or an hour and half, at a time. Fitness has been good, it's just the recent matches that I played on an uneven and bumpy ground that led to the injury. Otherwise, my fitness has been great for the past few years.
U19 World Cup Experience: It was a memorable time as I was representing the Pakistani team at that level. It was also the first time in history that Pakistan had become champions at that level. So, it was no doubt a historical and memorable moment. It was also a big step in coming into professional cricket and reaching that level. In that world cup, I bowled really well, I was bowling very fast, some were saying that I was bowling at 150 KPH. It was definitely a memorable part of my life. Confidence was sky high at that time for me, you could have brought Tendulkar in front and one could have got him out. This was the type of confidence that I had. The match against India was good, the feeling and the crowd really got the blood pumping. You just wanted to show them what you were made of. It was very fun to play in that match. The first few ball were full of pressure, but after that everything went became normal, in fact I became more aggressive. The crowd was really great and I enjoyed it, thoroughly.
was also in the team.
This guy can't bowl in internationals to save his life yet in FC's he's the champ personified.
