Name: Mohammad Asif
DOB: 20/12/1982
Origin: Sheikhupura, Pakistan
Batting Style: Left-hand
Bowling Style: Right-arm, medium-fast
Hailing from a small town in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Mohammad Asif is the exciting new introduction in the world of Cricket. With a medium to fast bowling pace and an action compared to that of Glen McGrath of Australia he has recently taken cricketing world by storm.Unlike other Pakistani fast bowlers Asif does not concentrate on his speed but rather focuses his attention on his line and length. He made a wicketless debut for his national team against Australia at Sydney in January 2005, coming to play national level cricket straight from domestic without any real practice meant his debut was somewhat unsuccesful. Not for long though as the same Asif that went wicketless in his debut at the start of the year took 10 wickets in a warm-up match against England towards the end of that same year. And so his good forutne started, making his ODI debut a day after his 23rd birthday, Asif dismissed Marcus Trescothick on his third ball and so ending up with figures of 2 for 14 in seven overs.
His good fortune did not end there, he went onto claim 6 wickets in the first and an impressive 11 wickets in the second test match against Sri Lanka in March 2006 and so bagging the highly deserved "Man of the Series" trophy. Coming a long way since his debut in Australia, current coach Bob Woolmer refers to him as one of the hardest-working - and most-improved - players in the Pakistan squad.
The successful debut to his cricketing career impressed many and brought him onto the English County Cricket scene. Asif signed with Leicestershire CC and played for them in May 2006. This however was not his first time playing for an English club, as he had previously played for the Leicestershire Second XI team in the 2004 season. His inclusion in the Pakistan squad named for the England tour in summer 2006 meant his time at Leicestershire was limited but very valuable as it gave him the oppurtunity to get used to the English bowling conditions ahead of the big tour. Asif was handed the main role for the England tour, in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-Ul-Hasan, he was to spearhead his team's bowling attack. This time however neither luck or fitness was with him as Asif was ruled out of the first, second and then third test against England due to an elbow injury. So with three main bowlers out, Pakistan were in a dire position having drawn the first match and lost the second and third.
Asif returned after an absence of 3 months from any form of cricket with a bang in the the 4th test to put Pakistan in a winning position. He claimed 4 wickets in the first innings to help bowl England out for under 200 runs and 1 in the unfinished second innings. So even though the match sadly remained unfinished it was evident what a difference the return of Asif made to the previously struggling Pakistan side. Having only played International level cricket for a year Asif has made a big impact in a short time and all that can be said is that this is just the start of his long and promising career.