Regarded as a magician with the ball, Mohammad Asif alongside Mohammad Amir formed a formidable new ball partnership which frequently laid waste to the top batting line-ups of the world. In August 2010, this association and the careers of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt came to an abrupt stop as news of the spot fixing scandal hit the headlines. The three players were consequently punished by the ICC with a five year ban from playing all forms of cricket.

On September 2nd 2015, the ban expired leaving the door open for a possible return to international cricket for the now thirty-two year old Asif whose Test record of 23 matches where he picked up 106 wickets, with the best figures of 6/41 against Australia in Sydney is one that he would be looking forward to improve.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Asif spoke on a number of topics including his hopes of a possible return to international cricket, his ability to regain the form that had marked him as one of the top bowlers up until 2010, what he has learnt from the mistakes of the past and his feelings about reports that some players may not welcome him back into the Pakistan team.

By Saj Sadiq (5th September, 2015)

PakPassion.net : What are your hopes of a return to international cricket?

Mohammad Asif : Well I have to be realistic. My ban has only just finished and people are already talking about a return to international cricket. Despite having targets I feel it’s too early at this stage to be speaking about a return to international cricket. My fitness is fine and I weigh exactly what I did five years ago before I was banned. Mentally I am ready for a return to cricket but I have to be realistic and take things one step at a time.


PakPassion.net : How long do you think will it be before you feel you will be ready for international cricket, six months, a year, eighteen months perhaps?

Mohammad Asif : Oh no, not that long. Within one or two months I will be back at the stage I was at before I was banned from cricket. I’ve been given some targets by the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding fitness levels and they shouldn’t be a problem at all. I’ve now started training at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore which will be a great help. The grounds are open to all to perform. It’s simple, if I perform well then the selectors can pick me, if I don’t perform then the national selectors will ignore me.

The door has been opened for me and it’s down to me to perform. There is a lot of competition with young pace bowlers now on the scene for Pakistan and it’s all down to who performs in domestic cricket. Realistically though my target for a return to international cricket is the series in England next year and that is a target I have set myself.


PakPassion.net : You mention that you’ve not gained any weight at all in five years, how have you kept yourself fit. I believe you played some cricket in Norway?

Mohammad Asif : During the last two years I’ve spent a lot of time in Norway with friends, playing a lot of cricket there. I have some good friends out in Norway and they invited me there to play some club cricket and to train with them. I had a fitness schedule which consisted of swimming, gym work, indoor cricket and outdoor cricket whenever possible. Also when I was in Pakistan I played club cricket whenever the opportunity arose. In addition I played a little bit of club cricket in the Middle-East. Most of this was just friendly cricket but it was good to be out there on the field among friends. I made sure that I didn’t break any rules set by the ICC and the PCB and ensured that I played cricket within the allowed guidelines.


PakPassion.net : Looking back now, you must have a lot of regrets about that no-ball?

Mohammad Asif : That was a huge mistake and yes it’s a huge regret. It’s a mistake that I want to warn the next generation of cricketers about and to ensure they learn from me and to make sure they don’t make the same mistakes that I made. I will speak with those young players face to face if the International Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board want me to and lecture them about what I have faced in these last five years. I want to make other cricketers aware of what I faced and warn them of the consequences.


PakPassion.net : What have you learnt from that huge mistake?

Mohammad Asif : The last five years of my life have been very harsh and very hard for me. The toughest part of it was that I couldn’t enter the grounds that I have played cricket all my life on and go out there and play a sport that I have always loved and have a passion for. It wasn’t just tough for me, but it was also a very difficult time for my family. My family offered me a lot of support during these tough times particularly when I was serving time in prison in the United Kingdom.


PakPassion.net : What was prison like? Did it help sharing a cell with Salman Butt and did you help each other get through the experience?


Mohammad Asif : I never thought that one day I would be sat in a prison cell. But such is life, anything is possible. There have been many people who have had tough periods in their life and got through it. It was the same for me, I just wanted to get that tough period of my life over with and move forward. Nelson Mandela is someone who also had to go to prison and he got through that difficult time and he was my inspiration when I was in prison. If I keep dwelling on the past I will never move forward with my life and move forward is exactly what I wish to do now. I want to utilise this opportunity I have been given and move forward and forget the past.

Salman (Butt) shared a cell with me for the first couple of months of our sentence before we moved cells and yes that was a help. It was a daunting time and I had no idea what to expect, so yes having a familiar face with me was probably a help. We supported each other in prison especially during the time we shared a cell.


PakPassion.net : You tainted the name of Pakistan cricket and hurt the feelings of many cricket lovers around the world. Are you sorry for what you did and for what happened?

Mohammad Asif : I’ve previously apologised to the whole of Pakistan and to cricket lovers around the world and I apologise once again for my actions. I made a mistake and for that I am very sorry. However I want to move forward now and forget the past, but also to learn from it.


PakPassion : Are you in contact with Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir and have you supported each other through the ban?

Mohammad Asif : We were all down during these last five years. It was difficult to meet each other as we knew that the conversation would keep leading to us talking about the difficulties we were facing and what happened, so we only met occasionally and that was just to offer each other support.


PakPassion.net : There is a consensus that some current Pakistan players do not want to play alongside you, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt. How do you feel about that?

Mohammad Asif : First and foremost, the Pakistan cricket team belongs to the nation of Pakistan, it does not belong to any individual players. This is not a local village team where some players don’t want others to play and that’s exactly what happens. If one or two players don’t want to play alongside us, then who knows, those players may not be in the team themselves in the future. Players come and go and nobody is an automatic or guaranteed selection. If Pakistan needs us in the team in future, then we will be picked regardless of what some individual players’ feelings are.


PakPassion.net : In addition, some former Pakistan players feel that you do not deserve another chance. What is your response to those players?

Mohammad Asif : There are a couple of players who are speaking out against me, Amir and Butt. They are offering their opinions and I have no problems at all with that as that is their opinion on television. They aren’t selectors and I don’t think they will influence the selectors as what matters is our performance on the field. However there are a number of other former players who feel we deserve another chance and I think that opinion among former Pakistan players is probably 70/30 in our favour. There are people who are for me and against me. I actually get more energy from people who are against me as I want to show those people what I am still capable of and to prove them wrong.


PakPassion.net : There are many cricket fans around the globe who feel you’ve previously had plenty of chances and are very lucky to be offered another opportunity in cricket. What is your message to those who suggest you don’t deserve yet another chance?

Mohammad Asif : I wholeheartedly apologise to those cricket fans for the biggest mistake of my life. I’ve hurt people who supported me and backed me and I promise them that I will not make another mistake and let them down once again.


PakPassion.net : What are your memories of that day at Lord’s when you bowled the now infamous no-ball?

Mohammad Asif : The memories are painful but they are memories that I want to try and remove from my mind. If I keep thinking back then I can never move ahead to the next and very important phase of my life. My thinking at this moment is to forget the past and move forward. If I keep thinking about what happened at Lord’s and the past five years and other difficult times in my life, then I will just be eaten up by negative thoughts. I need to make sure that I forget the past and look ahead


PakPassion.net : There will no doubt come a time when you are in the same team or playing against Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir. How do you feel about that possible scenario?

Mohammad Asif : We are used to playing against and alongside each other so I don’t think it will be a strange feeling and I don’t think there will be any animosity. What happened has happened, we cannot change the past. If Butt and Amir want to dwell in the past then that is up to them, but I’m not someone who wants to dwell on what occurred, I’d rather look to the future, be optimistic and be positive.


PakPassion.net : During your ban you stated that a fish never forgets how to swim. Is that just talk or do you feel as a bowler you can reach the heights of the past?

Mohammad Asif : I stand by that statement. I was a highly-skilled bowler who could out-think batsmen. I feel that I can be as good as I was at my best. I have natural skills and I don’t believe that I have lost those skills despite not having played at the highest level for five years. I can still swing the ball on any surface and I’ve not lost that ability.

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