Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The 2006 Under-19 World Cup holds a special significance for ardent followers of Pakistan cricket. It was in the February of that year that a young fast-bowling all-rounder captured the imagination of a cricket mad nation. Anwar Ali was eighteen years old when his bowling performance for Pakistan Under-19s against arch rivals India in the final of the of the Under-19 World Cup brought a historic thirty-eight run victory to the nation. His own contribution was a fantastic five-wicket haul along with seventeen runs and it appeared that a new star was fast rising for Pakistan. Fast forward to 2017 and Anwar’s promise of a glittering career seems a distant memory as he struggles to earn a recall to the national team, managing to make just thirty-eight international appearances after his debut in October 2008.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net Friday, Anwar spoke of his experience in international cricket, reminisced about the 2006 Under-19 World Cup and looked forward to resurrecting his international career on the back of good performances in the upcoming Pakistan Super League. There is no doubting the fact that a move from domestic cricket to international cricket requires a lot of hard-work and can be a challenging experience as well. Whilst Anwar may not have made as many appearances for his country as he would have hoped for, he is clear about the learning aspect of his association with the Pakistan team as he explained: “I’ve enjoyed playing international cricket and I think I’ve done quite well and have learnt a lot from the experience, but it’s a very tough environment. To play for Pakistan is a very tough and demanding ask. It’s a huge challenge as there is a lot of competition for places and there are three or four players fighting for each slot in the team.”

Sarfraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim are two Pakistan players who were in the same Under-19 World Cup winning squad as Anwar Ali. Whereas both Sarfraz and Imad continue to establish themselves in the national team, Anwar has had to fight an uphill battle to make himself known at the highest level. Anyone else in his position would struggle to carry on but Anwar draws inspiration from his record as a Pakistan player and feels that he has never been lacking in terms of the efforts he has put in for his country.

“It’s fair to say that my start in international cricket in the fifty-over format went well especially given that it was against South Africa in their own conditions when they were at the top of the rankings. It was a tough challenge but it went really well and I put in a solid performance with bat and ball in that match. I did put in some good performances for Pakistan but my consistency was lacking. I did well against Sri Lanka in the T20I series against them in 2015 and made forty-six off only seventeen balls in Colombo. I’ve always given my all and I’m proud that nobody can question my effort and commitment for Pakistan.”

With the recent dismal performance in Test matches on the tour of Australia, there has been a general outcry about the lack of a solid fast-bowling all-rounder as an important member of the unit. To many, a player like Anwar Ali would fit that bill with ease at least in the shorter formats of the game, but the fact is that the Pakistan selectors have ignored this type of player in favour of the slower bowlers. Whilst this may be disheartening for Anwar’s future in the Pakistan team, he is convinced that he has the wherewithal to take up this role in the team as he commented: “It’s fair to say that the Pakistan team these days relies on spin-bowling all-rounders rather than pace-bowling all-rounders, but credit to those players as they have performed well, but I believe that I am still the best pace-bowling all-rounder in Pakistan and I feel that I can make a strong comeback for Pakistan.”