Asif Zakir Hopeful to Represent Pakistan Soon

The 34-year-old cricketer from Pakistan, Asif Zakir is hopeful to represent his national side as soon as possible after a string of good performances in the domestic circuit over the years.

Meanwhile, Zakir ended the 2016-17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as the second highest run-getter owing to some remarkable performances. He amassed 853 runs at a staggering average of 85.3.

As a result, Zakir was named in the fitness camp in 2016 organised by the Pakistan Army. They were later going to participate in the tour of England, in the same year.

Zakir was unable to make it to the next stage and is yet to receive a national call-up.

Asif working hard to represent Pakistan:

Talking to Pakpassion.net, Zakir admitted that he is not ready to give up his dream of playing for his country.

Zakir is subsequently confident that his opportunity will come and will have to cash in then.

“I was very disappointed when my name was not mentioned for the England tour, but I decided to not give up and keep on working hard. I know that if not tomorrow, then my chance will come the day after and so on. My aim is to continue my efforts and God Willing, I feel I will get an opportunity in the future. I will never give up on my dream to play for Pakistan,” Zakir said.

The prolific run-scorer Zakir has played 130 first-class matches, scoring 7, 557 runs along with  2,940 runs in 78 List-A matches.

Zakir is ready to do whatever it takes to play for his country. He also revealed he is putting in extra efforts – to make a long-lasting mark in front of the selectors.

“I am definitely looking ahead to playing for Pakistan one day. I am working very hard and I will make any effort needed to achieve the goal of representing my country. Regardless of any setbacks that I may have faced up to now or hurdles that I may face ahead, my future is totally centred around being a cricketer and that is all I am focused on at the moment,” he added.

Currently, Asif Zakir is playing in the Lancashire league and is keen to utilize the opportunity to perform well and get the attention of the national selectors.

Also read: Phil Simmons reveals Afghanistan’s game plan ahead of historic Test