Mohammad Asif: “I curse the PCB for how they rescued his career”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has lambasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for helping left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir resurrect his international career.
Asif, Amir and former captain Salman Butt were all banned for five years for their involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that shocked the cricketing world.
Since then, Amir has gone on to represent Pakistan again, while Asif and Salman have only managed to make domestic comebacks.
Asif also criticised Amir for retiring from Test cricket at the age of 27 after the PCB invested so much time and faith in him.
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“I curse the PCB for how they rescued his career. But it was his obligation to help Pakistan cricket in a tough situation and he should have stayed, especially when they had helped him return,” Asif told ESPNcricinfo. “Anyway, it’s the PCB’s decision to let him go, but if he is meant to leave Test cricket at this age, it really is a curse upon those who fought so hard to bring him back. And did anyone ever take Amir’s name, saying he was the toughest bowler to handle? Definitely no.
“It’s about how compassionate you are. If the PCB invested so much in you then it’s your duty to rescue them in Test cricket. If they had done the same with me, then I’d still be available to rescue Pakistan in Test cricket for the next two years. I know there are fitness standards, but I can work that out and whatever is required I can do it.”
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