Frustrated at being ignored for selection, former pacer and convicted spot-fixer Mohamed Asif is contemplating asking the International Cricket Council (ICC) if the world body has instructed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to consider him for the national team.
Asif was convicted of spot-fixing in 2011 and was banned for seven years by the ICC, along with teammates Salman Butt and Mohamed Amir. Asif began a one-year prison sentence for his role in the scandal on November 3. The ICC then allowed Asif to play in 2015. But since then he hasn’t been selected by Pakistan.
“Some information to this effect recently reached me that the PCB has been asked by the ICC not to consider me for (national team) selection,” Asif told Pakistan daily Dawn.
Asif is curretly representing Wapda team in the super eight match of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy against Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) being played at the Niaz Stadium.
“I don’t know how authentic is the info. On my part, I am playing regularly in the (domestic) season. So I definitely intend to ask the ICC if they have any reservations about me,” he added. “Others are not bowling from a canon... I at least bowl like them too.”
“It is fine if PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has left it to the selectors to decide when to induct Salman Butt and me, but the selectors have to be fair and should pick those who have been performing well. We should have been invited to the camp to show our performance but we have been continuously ignored.”
On the current Pakistan pace attack, Asif said he is not very impressed: “We talk about talent... but this is all the talent that we have. I don’t think there is anything special about our pacers. It is an average sort of attack,” he said.
“To develop something special, you must work hard. And of course some have abilities which are God-gifted. I have played a full season now but I didn’t see anything special, be it Rahat (Ali) or Imran Khan or Sohail Khan.”
Asif felt Pakistan should shift their home venue from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to South Africa or Sri Lanka where the pitches are better and conditions more competitive. “Even Sri Lanka has better pitches compared to the UAE,” he said.
