Imran Nazir on Asif Ali: “Credit goes to him for improving his batting and make a comeback in such a fashion”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Former Pakistan opener Imran Nazir has lauded batsman Asif Ali for making a great comeback in the T20 World Cup.
Asif has taken big steps to cementing his place as Pakistan’s finisher with a couple of strong performances in the tournament.
He didn’t bat in Pakistan’s 10-wicket win over India, which saw the men in green claim their first-ever World Cup victory over their rivals.
In the match against New Zealand, which Pakistan won by five wickets, he smashed 27 off 12 balls, which included a boundary and three sixes.
Asif then thumped an unbeaten 25 off seven balls, which included four sixes, against Afghanistan.
All the sixes he hit came in the 19th over off the bowling of Karim Janat, where he finished off the game and led the team to an impressive five-wicket win.
Asif didn’t bat in his side’s 45-run win over Namibia, but in the team’s 72-run victory over Scotland, he scored five runs.
“Credit goes to him for improving his batting and make a comeback in such a fashion,” Nazir told Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan will now face Australia in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Pakistan T20 World Cup Squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik
Pakistan T20 World Cup Reserves: Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir