Mushtaq deserves credit for my performance: Bilal Asif
dubai — Pakistan off spinner Bilal Asif never gave up hope of playing Test cricket — even though age wasn’t on his side and his bowling action was reported during a one-day series against Zimbabwe in 2015.
After having warmed the bench last year during Pakistan’s series defeat against Sri Lanka in the UAE, Asif went back home, worked hard his game and took a lot of wickets before finally getting his chance to play for his country in the most prestigious format of the game.
“Being a professional cricket er, you have to be tough mentally. I always kept working hard. I never thought whether I would get a chance or not. It’s with Allah, you know, when you will get your chance and how you can grab them by performing. What I could do was to work hard on my game. And that’s what I was doing,” he said on Tuesday.
Now after making history with six wickets on debut against Australia in the first Test, the 33-yearold player revealed how Pakistan great Mushtaq Ahmed helped him develop his skills. “I was out of the team since 2015, I was at the NCA camp where I worked with Mushibhai. I need to really thank him for the work he did with me,” he said.
“I have been working with him in the last three years. I got the reward today. I think this credit goes to Mushy bhai who has always supported me on and off the field.”
The impressive thing about his performance on Tuesday was his attacking style. He wasn’t afraid of flighting the ball. “I have been bowling a lot and I have bowled like this in first class matches as well. So I have an idea how to get wickets on a particular wicket,” Asif told reporters.
“So I had a good look at the pitch. I knew the conditions in the UAE. It helps the spinners. I tried to bring some variations in terms of my pace and the result was good today.” The unassuming player then defended Yasir Shah who went wicketless on Tuesday.
“See this is a team game. He is a world-class bowler. I think I was also a bit lucky today that I got so many wickets,” Asif said. “I wasn’t bowling particularly well in the morning session, so there was a bit of pressure on me. But I remained very focused and tried bowl well in the second session. Thanks to Allah that I got success today in my first Test for Pakistan. I have waited for this moment for such a long time. I am very happy now.”