Serving a five-year ban for involvement in spot-fixing, Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif says he has been watching James Anderson's performance against India very closely and would try employing the England seamer's tactics if he manages to make a comeback.
 Mohammad Asif says he has been watching James Anderson's performance against India very closely and would try employing the England seamer's tactics if he manages to make a comeback. © Getty Images |
"I have watched James Anderson's bowling very closely again and again
and it has been very interesting watching him bowl. When I come back to
cricket even after the time away I will be thinking about how Anderson
bowled against India and will use that for my benefit. If you think you
are the finished article and don't need to learn from others then you
are wrong," Asif told pakpassion.net.
"I love watching Test cricket. Test cricket for me is the pinnacle, the real deal. The England versus India Test series
was fascinating, I really enjoyed it. I watched more of the England vs
India match as I wanted to see Anderson bowling," he said.
Asif also felt that Anderson is bowling with the similar skills and tactics that he had previously used.
"Only someone like myself who has bowled like Anderson, with a
similar style of bowling can truly appreciate what he is doing with the
cricket ball and how well he is bowling these days. Anderson has not
been playing cricket against the Indians, he has been playing with their
minds," he elaborated.
"He has truly out-thought and baffled the Indians with his artistry
and skill. It reminded me so much of what (Mohammad) Amir and I did at
times last year to the Australian and English batsmen. If Anderson
carries on bowling the way he has been recently and continues to improve
then he can become a cricket legend," he said.
Asif has admitted that being caught up in the spot-fixing scandal and
then being banned has been mentally very tough for him and the events
had left him extremely disappointed.
"Mentally, it's been really tough. Cricket is my life and always will
be, and for that to be taken away from me in the circumstances it was,
has been terribly difficult to cope with," Asif said.
"When you have served your country as a professional sportsman, then
you don't want that to ever be taken away from you. I've been practising
regularly with some of my friends but it's heartbreaking to think that
not so long ago I was playing cricket at the top tier of the game and
now I'm occasionally playing nowhere near that standard," he added.
Asked about his future, Asif, who has taken 106 wickets in 23 Tests,
said it was difficult for him to predict where he would be in four
year's time when the ban ends.
"It's four years into the future, it's difficult to predict what can
happen in those four years I don't know what the situation will be like
in four years. I guess only time will tell. Anyone who has been involved
in the game finds it hard to totally move away from the sport," he
added.
The pace bowler maintained he was innocent and said the Pakistan Cricket Board had not done enough to help him.
"I am confident of being cleared of the criminal charges at next
month's trial under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 at Southwark
Crown Court, London," he said.
"I'm hopeful that I will be cleared of everything and I can resume
playing cricket again as soon as possible. Whoever committed any alleged
crime, the Pakistan Cricket Board should have dealt with that
individual and taken the appropriate action against that individual.
The PCB had taken offence to Asif's complaint against it, insisting
it had done everything in its power to assist the players during the
spot-fixing scandal.
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