Pakistan Fast Bowlers Are 17-18 Years on Paper, But They Are Actually 27-28, Says Mohammad Asif
Former fast bowler Mohammad Asif said the Pakistani pacers' lack the fitness to bowl long spells and also alleged that they forge their age on paper.
Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif slammed his country’s fast bowlers for their poor fitness levels. He even claimed that their ages are not what they show on paper.
Pakistan suffered a crushing 101-run defeat against New Zealand in the first Test in Mount Maunganui this week to go 0-1 down in the two-match series.
At present, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa Khan are the ones, either in their teenage days or in their early 20s.
Slamming their performance in New Zealand, the former pacer Asif said the Pakistani pacers’ lack the fitness to bowl long spells and pointed out the other areas they struggling at.
“They are so aged. It is written as 17-18 years on paper, but they are actually 27-28 years old because they don’t have the flexibility to bowl 20-25 overs. They don’t know how to bend the body; they become stiff. They are not able to stand on the field after bowling a 5-6 over spell,” Asif said on Kamran Akmal’s YouTube channel.
“I feel it might have been 5-6 years since a fast bowler took 10 wickets in a match. We used to salivate after seeing the pitches like the ones in New Zealand. There was no question of leaving the ball as a fast bowler. I never used to leave the ball before taking a five-wicket haul.
“These kids do not have the knowledge. They don’t know how to keep the batsman on the front foot, not give them a single and how to bowl on the wickets. When they try to bowl on the wickets, it goes down the leg-side. They do not have the control,” Asif said.
The two sides will face each other in the second Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch from January 3. The hosts has won the three-match T20I series 2-1 prior to the Tests.
