Mohammad Asif says he is the most effective bowler in the world with the new ball

Promising Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has claimed to be the best bowler with the new ball in Test cricket. One of the three cricketers alongside Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt to be banned following the infamous match-fixing scandal in 2010, Asif was suspended for 5 years from international cricket.

He played his first match after the ban for the Water and Power Development Authority in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in October 2016. The speedster feels that the bowlers of the current Pakistani team lack the expertise to make the most out of the new ball as long as the shine stays.

As quoted from India Today, Asif said, "If you waste the new ball than you are asking for trouble. In Test cricket in particular, no matter what the opposition or conditions, you have to make the new ball count. No one knows the art of exploiting the new ball better than me."

The right-arm bowler is not ruling out the possibility of a comeback to international cricket and said that age is not a factor, though he will turn 34 in a few days time. He feels that he is ready to play cricket for Pakistan pointing out the fact that a 40-plus player (Misbah-ul-Haq) and another one in his late thirties (Younis Khan) are currently in the squad.

"All this talk about fitness and age I don't believe in that particularly when you have a 40-plus player in the national Test side and some in the late thirties,” said Asif

He added, “People say spinners mature with age and I believe it is the same with pace bowlers, they also become better and more lethal with age and experience. You can't even play in domestic cricket if you are not fit."

Mohammad Asif has so far played 23 Tests for the Pakistani team and has taken 123 wickets at an impressive average of 24.36, which shows he could have provided an extra flair to the Pakistani bowling line-up all these years.

He has been equally successful in the limited formats as well. Mohammad Amir has already made a comeback to international cricket; it will be interesting to see if Asif also gets a nod from the selectors in the following days.