TIL Desk Sports/ Pakistan’s tainted pace bowler Mohammad Asif described former India stars Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman as technically the best batsmen he bowled to in his roller-coaster career. Asif’s career hit rock bottom in 2010 when he was banned for five years from the sport, and subsequently jailed for his role in the spot-fixing saga in a Test match against England at Lord’s.
“Dravid and Laxman were technically very good and could whip the ball from the off-stump to the onside flawlessly. It was a challenge bowling to them,” Asif said in an interview, on Wednesday. Asif, who picked up 106 wickets in 23 Tests and was rated as one of the best new ball operators at the time, said current Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli reminds him of Dravid and Laxman.
“Virat is also technically very strong and that always makes it a difficult job for the bowler,” he said. Asif, who is now playing domestic cricket and striving to make a comeback to the national team, recalled that his career had taken off with his spell against a strong Indian batting line-up at Karachi in the 2006 Test series.
