PCB never tried to save me: Mohammad Asif

Lahore, May 4 (IANS) Tainted Pakistan fast-bowler Mohammad Asif has stated he still regrets how his career came to an abrupt end because of his actions.

Asif was banned for seven years for his role in the infamous 2010 spot-fixing scandal and he also served jail time in England after being found guilty along with former teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir.

Asif has alleged that players have been fixing matches before him and even after his 2010 scandal but according to him, he wasn’t treated in the same manner as the other tainted players.

“Players had been indulging in fixing before me and even after me. But those before me are working with PCB and there are few after me still playing,” Asif was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“Everyone was given a second chance and there are few who never got the same treatment as me. PCB never tried to save me regardless of the fact that I am the kind of bowler who was highly regarded by everyone in the world.

“But anyway I’m not sitting around brooding about the past or hung up on it. What happened is history. However much I played in my career, I made it count, duniya hila ke rakh de thi (I shook up the world).”

In his glory days, Asif was regarded as one of the finest swing bowlers of the world. Such was his effect that top batsmen, who had faced him in his prime, still talk about Asif’s bowling abilities.

In his short 23-Test career, he scalped 106 wickets and at one point was the second-place holder in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers.

“Even today, so many years later, the best batsmen in the world still remember me and they talk about me,” he said.

“Just think how big the impact was that I had on the world. So this is what makes me proud – that there is a reason KP (Kevin Pietersen), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla talk highly about me. That is what makes me happy.”

Besides 23 Tests, Asif also played 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is in which he scalped 46 and 13 wickets respectively.

–IANS

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