Word consistency comes to mind speaking about Virat Kohli: Sami Aslam

Sami Aslam emerged into focus in the Pakistan national side as a surprise package in the third Test match of the 4-match series at Edgbaston. With scores 82 and 70 in the two innings, he made his mark in his first match of the series, however, ended up being on the losing side.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, he spoke about the cricketers he admires, his composure, his opinions, about his first match of the England series, feelings of being a part of the no.1 ranked Test squad, and much more.

Missed out on a hundred at Edgbaston:

He said that he was told two days before the third Test match that he will be a part of the playing eleven and that he prepared well ahead of the match as he knew that he is up against some of the best bowlers in the world.

“I knew that if I let nerves get the better of me then I wouldn’t be able to perform. I didn’t even think about any score, I didn’t have a target score in mind and my focus was just to go out there and give 100% and just do my best,” he said.

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He was run-out in the first innings when he was 18 short of a century. “My dismissal came at a time when I was scoring quite freely and batting with confidence, which made missing out on the hundred even more frustrating.”

Frustrated England bowlers:

He also said that being calm and composed at the crease was one of the keys to success and he thanked Grant Flower for all of his advice which has helped him, as Flower’s message was to bat like he was batting at the practice session.

When asked whether the England bowlers were getting a bit upset with a young, rookie batting so well, he said, “I think the English bowlers looked at me and thought who is this kid out here playing a Test match. I think they expected me to be a pushover especially opening the batting which is really tough in England. The longer I batted, I think the more frustrated they got and when I was leaving the ball quite well, there were some interesting words from Anderson and Broad directed towards me. I think the more frustrated they got, the more I enjoyed it because I knew I was doing well.”

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Admires Cook, Root, and Kohli:

He said that he admire Alastair Cook and Joe Root of England as he had watched a lot of their batting and he feels that it is important to learn from the world-class opposition players. When asked about Virat Kohli, he said, “the word consistency comes to mind.” He said that Virat is a cricketer he respects and admires.

Speaking about Virat’s attitude, he said, “He is someone who every time he goes out to bat, plays in a manner as if his life depended on it. Every innings is played with the same determination as the previous one and nothing is taken for granted.”

He recollected Sachin Tendulkar’s words when speaking about improving with each and every match. “I always recall Sachin Tendulkar saying that even when he played his last Test match, he was still learning and trying to improve. I have lots to learn and that comes with experience and hopefully from playing around the world,” he lamented.

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Sami is excited on being a part of the no.1 ranked Test team and credited the Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who took over the captaincy in 2010 after the spot-fixing saga for the turnaround.