Mohammad Asif: “Not a very smart move, because he didn’t realise that if he wants to have a long career, he’s better off saying Akram is his biggest influence and not me”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif admitted that it was “not a very smart move” for fellow seamer Mohammad Abbas to pick him as his biggest influence.

Asif noted that if Abbas “wants to have a long career”, he would have been better off picking legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram as his biggest influence instead of him.

This is because Asif was banned for five years for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that shocked the cricketing world.

[interaction id=”5c5d1c8a34b4f401a4a7a821″]

“Even Mohammad Abbas, who said to Wasim Akram publicly in an interview on YouTube that he learnt a lot from me – he should’ve actually said that it’s you [Akram] who is my idol but instead he said it was me,” Asif told ESPNcricinfo. “Not a very smart move, because he didn’t realise that if he wants to have a long career, he’s better off saying Akram is his biggest influence and not me!”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Mohammad Asif shares story that left Wasim Akram with “amazement on his face”

[interaction id=”5dc6e7fe84c507bcfc1855f9″]