Rumman Raees: “Imran Khan used to say that Pakistan have never had a new ball bowler like Asif”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Rumman Raees has revealed that legendary Pakistan captain and all-rounder Imran Khan always said Mohammad Asif was special as Pakistan “never had a new ball bowler” like him before.
Asif could make the ball talk as he swung it both ways and troubled many of the world’s elite batsmen with his flawless line and length.
South Africa batsmen AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen and ex-India batsman Robin Uthappa are among the many batters who have spoken about how difficult it was to face Asif.
Considering the impact he had, Raees can see why Imran held the 40-year-old in such high regard.
“Imran Khan used to say that Pakistan have never had a new ball bowler like Asif,” he said on Daniyal Sheikh’s podcast as quoted by Cricwick.
Pakistan recently defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before claiming a 3-0 win over Afghanistan in an ODI series.
They are now playing in the Asia Cup, where they kicked off their campaign with an impressive 238-run win over Nepal.
In their next match against India, both teams had to settle for one point each as the game was rained off after India were bowled out for 266.
Despite this, Pakistan advanced to the Super Four stage and cruised to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Lahore.
However, they were dealt their first loss when India beat them by 228 runs.
Pakistan will aim to get things back on track when they take on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir