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| July 20, 2006 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 23, 1427 |
Asif hoping for Oval Test return
KARACHI, July 19: Pakistan’s talented young fast bowler Mohammad Asif expressed hope on Wednesday of regaining full fitness before the fourth and final Test against England which commences at The Oval from Aug 17.
The 23-year-old Sheikhupura-born Asif who returned home along with all-rounder Shoaib Malik a couple of days ago was ruled out of the first Test at Lord’s due to an injury to his right elbow.
Malik too suffered a recurring elbow injury following a corrective surgery and is unlikely to feature in the ongoing Test series.
Asif, while talking to Dawn on Wednesday, remained hopeful of rejoining his team-mates in time for the Oval Test.
“I have been advised to take a three-week break before resuming training,” he said from Lahore where he has commenced a rehabilitation programme from Wednesday under the guidance of Dr Meesaq Rizvi.
Asif added that initially he was doing light swimming and having physiotherapy on his bowling arm.
“After going through the rehabilitation process, the elbow will be re-examined. Only then will it become clear if I can resume my cricket,” he said.
Asif, who suffered the injury on the second day of the four-day match against England ‘A’ at Canterbury, was distraught at missing the chance of making a Lord’s Test debut.
“Obviously, it’s a huge disappointment for having to pull out of the first Test at Lord’s. It is every cricketer’s dream to play a Test match at the historic ground,” he regretted.
Pakistan, already deprived of their frontline pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, were relying on the broad shoulders of Asif to carry the attack. His injury was certainly a big jolt for the visitors whose pace resources have shrunk rapidly in the past two weeks.
Asif had made rapid strides at the start of the year with series-winning performances against India and Sri Lanka after a wicketless Test debut against Australia at Sydney in January 2005.
He picked up seven Indian wickets in the series-deciding Test at Karachi including the prized scalps of Vangipurappu Laxman (twice), skipper Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
Asif, who has taken 25 wickets in five Tests at 20 each, then played havoc with the Sri Lankan batsmen by returning match haul of 11 for 71 to guide Pakistan to a fine victory in the second Test at Kandy which settled the rubber in the tourists’ favour.
“I rate my performance against Sri Lanka as most satisfying because of the weather conditions there and the situation which Pakistan encountered then.
“The playing conditions were extremely hot and sultry in Kandy. On top of it, we had conceded a substantial lead of 109 runs on the first innings. However in the end, we managed to wriggle out of a tight match comfortably,” Asif said proudly.
The speedster kept his fingers crossed while contemplating his probable participation in the ongoing series.
“On the whole I’m an optimistic individual and would like nothing better than playing an active role in the England series,” he hoped.
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