Summary Asif said players come and go and nobody is an automatic or guaranteed selection.
ISLAMABAD (APP) - Pacer Muhammad Asif has said that the Pakistan cricket team belongs to the nation and if any player doesn’t want to play alongside us (banned trio) then who knows, those players may not be in the team themselves.
Asif said the national cricket team belongs to the nation of Pakistan and not to any individual players.
“This is not a local village team where some players don’t want others to play. 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,” said Asif, in an interview to PakPassion.
Asif said 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,” he said.
Asif said there are a couple of players who are speaking out against him, Muhammad Amir and Salman Butt that they should not be given a second chance.
“I have no problems at all with that as it is their opinion. They (former players) aren’t selectors and I don’t think they will influence the selectors as what matters is our performance on the field,” he said.
Asif said there are also 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,” he said.
Talking about his return to international cricket, Asif said it is too early at this stage to speak 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,” he said.
Asif said I have been given some targets by the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding fitness levels and they shouldn’t be a problem at all.
“I have now started training at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore which will be a great help. If I perform well then the selectors can pick me, if I don’t perform then the selectors will ignore me,” he said adding however his target to return to international cricket is the series in England next year.
