Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s hard-hitting batsman Asif Ali believes that middle-order players should be given proper chances and a freehand in order to succeed in the game.

Asif, who has featured in 20 ODIs and 29 Twenty20 Internationals (T20s) for Pakistan, said the team management should give a fair chance to players while also claiming that he doesn’t get enough overs to bat in international cricket.

“If you give freehand to players that you will play all the matches (then results would be better) but if we can’t perform in one match then we don’t know whether we will play the next game or not,” Asif said in an interview to Cricwick as quoted by cricketpakistan.com.pk.

“I get only a few overs to play but on social media, they would say like Asif has only made 10 runs in three matches but people don’t take into consideration that I only got the last few overs to play.

It’s the same case with every other player. If you trust someone then give him a proper chance,” he said.

He also cited the examples of Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, England’s Jos Buttler, and West Indies Andre Russell with regards to the role of a batsman in the middle-order.

“I will tell you something. People don’t know here that what’s the best average for a middle-order batsman. If you take a look at the middle-order batsmen around the world like Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler, Andre Russell and if you take a look at their average, it’s going be to around 25 and they only perform two out of 10 times,” he said.

“People should understand that these players’ role is like playing a gamble and you have to play such players. In a crucial match like a semifinal, they could win you matches. For example, Danish Aziz scored 45 off 13 balls and that innings helped Karachi Kings win the match. If you have played him as a power hitter then he got the job done,” he said.