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What happened to Asim Kamal?

steelo green

steelo green

First Class Player
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Runs
3,176
Post of the Week
2
I remember him from many years ago, saw a bit of him. He scored runs in test, and some against some pretty good teams.

To be fair I do not remember techinque, or any of that stuff as I was about 16 when he played. Can any of the more learned fans explain what was the reason for dropping him and/or him never getting another shot?

Here is his profile: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/39041.html
 
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When I saw him play against India (that too with an injury), I was convinced this guy will turn out to be a very good batsman for Pak.

Dunno what happened later on.
 
From what I remember Woolmer thought he was heavily lacking in other areas like fielding and fitness.
 
He was "boring" so he had to move to three to make room for an "entertainer" like Afridi or Razzaq. He wasn't very good at the top of the order, international career over.
 
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He was a solid test cricketer from what I remember. Often made starts but couldn't reach that elusive century.

Given that we had the likes of Younis, Inzi and Yousuf in our middle order back in that day, Asim was easily the most expendable middle order bat in that team. Sadly never got back into the team after he was dropped.
 
IIRC I think he got hit wicket against India on 99 (and the ball went to the boundary) :)) :13:
 
Few days ago ten sports director was asking mazher arshad and faizan lakhani that he heard that Asim was dropped from team because he was considered unlucky for team. Faizan lakhani was saying Asim believes that there was some conspiry theory for his exclusion. He furthur added that Asim never tried to work hard to win his place back into team.
 
He was a good player. He was recalled a few years ago but didnt make the 11
 
He was an ordinary batsman with a solid technique but not the right mentality. He wasn't mentally weak but he was timid and failed to express himself.

During that time, we had a world class middle order of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam. To compliment them, the management chose to invest in more dynamic all-round options like Malik, Afridi and Razzaq.

A poor man's Shafiq, nothing more. If him (Shafiq) or Azhar would have been dropped after 12 Tests, there would be people on Pakpassion in the future whining over how they were unfairly treated and all that but mediocrity eventually prevails.

Well, Asim's one dimension and limited potential quickly came to surface and we got rid of him at the right time. Good job.
 
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steelo green said:
I remember him from many years ago, saw a bit of him. He scored runs in test, and some against some pretty good teams.

To be fair I do not remember techinque, or any of that stuff as I was about 16 when he played. Can any of the more learned fans explain what was the reason for dropping him and/or him never getting another shot?

Here is his profile: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/39041.html
Click to expand...

I always wonder the same question .... I never understood why he was dropped. He was a good player a very good player. He could have put current middle order to shame. Technically sound, temperament, good execution of shots .... I really liked this player.
 
Mamoon said:
He was an ordinary batsman with a solid technique but not the right mentality. He wasn't mentally weak but he was timid and failed to express himself.

During that time, we had a world class middle order of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam. To compliment them, the management chose to invest in more dynamic all-round options like Malik, Afridi and Razzaq.

A poor man's Shafiq, nothing more. If him (Shafiq) or Azhar would have been dropped after 12 Tests, there would be people on Pakpassion in the future whining over how they were unfairly treated and all that but mediocrity eventually prevails.

Well, Asim's one dimension and limited potential quickly came to surface and we got rid of him at the right time. Good job.
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Seriously?
 
Yes. what were you expecting from him in the future?

People are quick to quote domestic averages when its convenient but they don't seem to do so in his case.
 
Only in Pakistan does no one care about domestic numbers. With a first class record that poor, he should never have been called up into the test team. Especially when we had a world class middle order batting line.

While I agree that sometimes domestic numbers don't tell the true nature of a player (Sharjeel), they are usually reliable. Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are extremely mediocre, and their first class records prove that. Same goes for Umar 'great technique' Amin. While Fawad with an average of 45+ in List A is currently our best batsmen.
 
I remember his gutsy innings against India, when all round were falling.
I thought he was the future of Pakistan cricket, he didn't get a proper chance maybe he didn't fit in the clique.
 
Mamoon said:
Yes. what were you expecting from him in the future?

People are quick to quote domestic averages when its convenient but they don't seem to do so in his case.
Click to expand...

I do agree with this point, however there are always exceptions both ways. I just think that if one can perform at home then the chances they can internationally are higher than others but as always exceptions are created.

We could have found a spot for him until he deteriorated like Azhar or Shafiq if that so happened to be the case.

You've been wrong a lot of times with your argument regarding technique so I don't really take what you say seriously anymore.
 
Didn't ask you to, won't cry in bed at night at the the thought of you not taking me seriously. Anyhow,

He was better technically than Azhar and perhaps Shafiq as well, but he never managed to get rid of the shackles and impose himself on the bowlers.

Could he have been given a few more games? probably, but Azhar and Asad wouldn't have been given such a long rope either in presence of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam.

Asim Kamal would have played a lot more had he played post 2007 but we haven't missed out on a fantastic batsman or anything.
 
He was a player with no reference. Poor guy. Was a good player.
 
Mamoon said:
He was an ordinary batsman with a solid technique but not the right mentality. He wasn't mentally weak but he was timid and failed to express himself.

During that time, we had a world class middle order of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam. To compliment them, the management chose to invest in more dynamic all-round options like Malik, Afridi and Razzaq.

A poor man's Shafiq, nothing more. If him (Shafiq) or Azhar would have been dropped after 12 Tests, there would be people on Pakpassion in the future whining over how they were unfairly treated and all that but mediocrity eventually prevails.

Well, Asim's one dimension and limited potential quickly came to surface and we got rid of him at the right time. Good job.
Click to expand...

LoL a Poor man's Shafiq. As if Shafiq is any good himself
 
Mamoon said:
Didn't ask you to, won't cry in bed at night at the the thought of you not taking me seriously. Anyhow,

He was better technically than Azhar and perhaps Shafiq as well, but he never managed to get rid of the shackles and impose himself on the bowlers.

Could he have been given a few more games? probably, but Azhar and Asad wouldn't have been given such a long rope either in presence of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam.

Asim Kamal would have played a lot more had he played post 2007 but we haven't missed out on a fantastic batsman or anything.
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What shackles are you talking about? You make zero sense.
 
We must not forget , he was left hander , that would have been good for Pakistan middle order.
 
HussainRx8 said:
What shackles are you talking about? You make zero sense.
Click to expand...

He was a timid player who was not able to impose himself on the opposition. He was a tuk tuk batsman at a time when tuk tuk was not fashionable in Pakistan, and Woolmer was a fan of playing all-rounders in Tests with flamboyance such as Afridi, Razzaq and Malik.

Pakistan's middle-order was stacked, and he could not compete with Younis, MoYo and Inzamam who were far superior batsmen. Misbah also struggled to breakthrough and he was a much better player than Kamal. Moreover, he was not good enough for ODIs either so he was unable to make much of an impression.

It is not a surprise that he was discarded; he simply did not bring much to the table and could not compete with more versatile players.
 
I agree with comments here.

Asim Kamal may have been discarded prematurely but being discarded was always an eventuality with him.

He never was a potential world beating batsman so to say that Pakistan wasted some great talent is disingenuous
 
Mamoon said:
He was a timid player who was not able to impose himself on the opposition. He was a tuk tuk batsman at a time when tuk tuk was not fashionable in Pakistan, and Woolmer was a fan of playing all-rounders in Tests with flamboyance such as Afridi, Razzaq and Malik.

Pakistan's middle-order was stacked, and he could not compete with Younis, MoYo and Inzamam who were far superior batsmen. Misbah also struggled to breakthrough and he was a much better player than Kamal. Moreover, he was not good enough for ODIs either so he was unable to make much of an impression.

It is not a surprise that he was discarded; he simply did not bring much to the table and could not compete with more versatile players.
Click to expand...

I would also add that Asim Kamal was in direct competition with YK during the 2003-2005 era. From what I recall - Asim Kamal was the preferred batsman during 2003/04.

However, the Bangalore Test changed everything - for both YK and Asim. Woolmer was convinced that YK was the better player from that point onwards even though Asim himself did reasonably well himself during that India tour.

The final nail in the coffin for Asim was the England tour of 2005 where he failed in all 6 innings - although tbf YK did not do that great either during that series. Again the India tour of 2006 proved to everyone that YK was the better batsman. YK scored 500+ runs that series and was in beast mode from that point onwards. If YK had failed that tour - Asim might have gotten a look in again but it was not to be...

It was also Asim's misfortune that Afridi hit form during the 2005-2007 time frame and further proved the "flamboyant all-rounder" strategy was the way to go. Razzaq also did just enough to stay in the team and his seam bowling was seen as an added bonus.

By 2007 - when Inzy retired. Shoaib Malik became the de facto test batsman for us in the middle order due to him being captain for the LOI team so Asim was overlooked again and the emergence of Misbah further meant Asim would never get a chance again. Rightly or wrongly that is just how things work in Pakistan lol.

He was definitely unfortunate - esp considering the likes of Farhat, Faisal, Nasir etc. have all played Test cricket since his final game in 2005 but at each point in his career - there was always a better batsman to replace him so he was not missed at all. Maybe he could have scored a big 150 or 200 during the 2003-05 years to prove he was the real deal since this half centuries and 90's were just not enough to convince the management that he could be a middle order stalwart.

Benefits of hindsight!
[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]
 
There's only 2 players since the turn of the century whose loss I seriously lament, Asif and Sharjeel. They were both about to do something big in their respective format(s) before throwing it all away.

It's one thing to lose a player to selection blunders, that too a player whose potential nobody really knew, compared to well established players who literally threw their careers straight in the bin.

Yeah their bans are/will be lifted, but that's the same as going to the landfill to find what you already threw away... and now it's filthy and doesn't have the same value...
 
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46 years old today (31 May) - Happy Birthday to him
 
Mamoon said:
He was a timid player who was not able to impose himself on the opposition. He was a tuk tuk batsman at a time when tuk tuk was not fashionable in Pakistan, and Woolmer was a fan of playing all-rounders in Tests with flamboyance such as Afridi, Razzaq and Malik.

Pakistan's middle-order was stacked, and he could not compete with Younis, MoYo and Inzamam who were far superior batsmen. Misbah also struggled to breakthrough and he was a much better player than Kamal. Moreover, he was not good enough for ODIs either so he was unable to make much of an impression.

It is not a surprise that he was discarded; he simply did not bring much to the table and could not compete with more versatile players.
Click to expand...

Quite true. Woolmer liked to to play 5 bowlers which is why he lost his spot to Razzaq or Afridi. Still with 8 50's in 20 innings and a decent average of 37 one would think he would be given a longer rope.
 
He got many fifties but couldn't convert those to hundreds.

Seemed like one of those "Mister Fifty" guys.
 
sweep_shot said:
He got many fifties but couldn't convert those to hundreds.

Seemed like one of those "Mister Fifty" guys.
Click to expand...

On his debut he was out for 99
But eventually if you keep giving him chances, he would have scored hundred . He could have been a mid 40 s average batsman , which was not bad , he was a consistent performer in the middle.
 
He was very harshly treated because of the open love Bob had for Shoaib malik. Bob said many times he wanted to get shoaib in to the test team at any cost. He even got him to try keeping because that could be another Avenue. Unfortunately asim kamal had to make way.

This was one of the downfalls of Bob. He believed too strongly that you needed one or two allrounders in the team even if they were mediocre like malik and razzak. I don’t remember malik doing anything of note in test matches even in those days.
 
He was a strange batter. He would almost always deliver when the pressure was on, but when he would be in easier situations he would give his wicket away.
But it would have been wiser to invest in Asim for tests specifically instead of Shoaib Malik and Faisal Iqbal.
 
Born: May 31, 1976 (age 47 years), Karachi, Pakistan

==

He made 6,683 runs in 134 first-class appearances. The left-handed batter scored 717 runs in 12 Test matches for Pakistan, with his highest score of 99 coming on debut against South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
 
One of the most over rated cricketers.

His domestic avg was low and plus his fitness was terrible
 
He had limited strokes and used to play the waiting game (stay on the wicket and the runs will come) A defensive batter....a bit like Misbah.
 
Mamoon said:
He was an ordinary batsman with a solid technique but not the right mentality. He wasn't mentally weak but he was timid and failed to express himself.

During that time, we had a world class middle order of Younis, MoYo and Inzamam. To compliment them, the management chose to invest in more dynamic all-round options like Malik, Afridi and Razzaq.

A poor man's Shafiq, nothing more. If him (Shafiq) or Azhar would have been dropped after 12 Tests, there would be people on Pakpassion in the future whining over how they were unfairly treated and all that but mediocrity eventually prevails.

Well, Asim's one dimension and limited potential quickly came to surface and we got rid of him at the right time. Good job.
Click to expand...

Malik and Razzaq were two most overrated test all rounders in their contemporary times. They were just more than ordinary. They wasted 81 tests together for Pakistan. Very big numbers. Their stats (I saw them play too in their entire career) doesn't tag them as 'dynamic' all rounders rather like an below average batsman who can bowl.

Asim Kamal was a gritty player. A fighter. He had scored against topmost opposition like India, Australia and South Africa. He could have been easily slotted with Inji,Younis,Yousuf in the middle order. But wasn't a likeable player in the team management which is essential to hold a place in the team like what was in case of Azhar and Asad.

Asim was just a name in the long list of players like Sami,Fawad,Yasir Hameed who had all the potential to be a good long time players with a good international player but discarded unfairly.
 
Avg of 37.73 in 12 tests isn't bad but a career FC avg of 34 is poor. So in the hindsight, it seems it was the right decision to drop him.

They should have backed Misbah who averaged close to 50 in FC. Wasted a spot on overrated ARs.
 
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