'A true player has his own ego' - Mohammad Asif criticizes Pakistan players for not voicing out their opinions

The right-arm fast-medium bowler, hailing from Sheikhupura, Mohammad Asif is known for his blunt statements and harsh words. The Pakistan seamer once again grabbed the headlines as he made some serious claims against the Pakistan cricket team by revealing that the Pakistan players are nothing more than yes-men.

Asif, who represented Men in Green, from 2005 to 2010 in 23 Test matches, 38 One Day Internationals, and 11 T20 Internationals having picked 106, 46, and 13 wickets respectively, reckoned that the cricketers in the Pakistan National team have a habit of listening and following everything that is conveyed to them by the team management.

The seamer also feels that the players don’t have the guts to voice out their opinions and are too afraid of the Pakistan Cricket Board. “A true player has his own ego; he won’t entirely listen to [the] team management,” Asif said on a YouTube show hosted by former Pakistan cricketers Shahnawaz Khan and Shahid Nazir.

It is written as 17-18 years on paper, but they are actually 27-28 years old: Mohammad Asif

A few days back, Mohammad Asif had also slammed the Men in Green for their torrid performance in the two-match Test series against the Black Caps. The Men in Green had toured New Zealand for a three-match T20I series followed by two Test fixtures. While they registered a defeat in the T20I series by 1-2, the visiting nation succumbed to massive defeats by 101 runs and an innings and 176 runs respectively in Tests.

Speaking with former teammate Kamran Akmal on YouTube, Asif had claimed that the many players in the Pakistan team have not revealed their real ages and are not as young as depicted on paper. The veteran had made such claims as he took a jibe on the physical fitness and flexibility of the bowlers.

“They [current Pakistan bowlers] are so aged. It is written as 17-18 years on paper, but they are actually 27-28 years old. They don’t have the flexibility to bowl 20-25 overs. They don’t know how to bend the body and they become stiff after a while. They are not able to stand on the field after bowling a 5-6 over spell,” Asif said without taking any names.