Saeed Ajmal: “I hope he grabs this opportunity with both hands”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal said he hopes power-hitter Asif Ali grabs the opportunity he is currently getting “with both hands”.
This comes after Asif played the finisher role in the T20 World Cup.
He showed his power with the bat as he amassed 57 runs in six matches at an average of 57 and a strike-rate of 237.50.
His most epic performance came against Afghanistan, where he won Pakistan the match with some late heroics.
Asif smashed an unbeaten 25 off seven balls, which included four sixes.
All the sixes he hit came in the 19th over off the bowling of Karim Janat, where he finished off the game and led Pakistan to an impressive five-wicket win.
He also had a strong showing in the five-wicket win over New Zealand, where he thumped 27 off 12 balls, which included a boundary and three sixes.
“I hope he grabs this opportunity with both hands,” Ajmal told Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign came to an end on Thursday when they were beaten by five wickets by Australia in the semi-final.
The men in green will now play three T20 Internationals and two Tests against Bangladesh.
The T20 series will be held from November 19 to 22, while the Test series will begin on November 26.
Pakistan’s Squad for Bangladesh T20 Series: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir
Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Test series: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Zahid Mahmood