Asif Ali clears air on his '300 sixes during net sessions' claim

Pakistan’s middle-order batsman Asif Ali has come up with a clarification regarding his misleading comments about hitting 300 sixes daily during net sessions. Ali while speaking to a local Pakistani outlet, claimed that he made a mistake while making that statement but also blamed journalists for putting up a piece of further misleading information about the same.

Asif Ali is currently gearing up to take part in the 9th edition of the Pakistan Super League for Peshawar Zalmi who will begin their PSL 9 campaign with a clash against Quetta Gladiators on 18th February, Sunday at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. Ali will be aiming to produce good performances in the upcoming season in order to aid his cause to get selected for the national side in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The 32-year-old has been unable to break into the national team since 2022 due to inconsistent performances and of course the rise of players like Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz, and Azam Khan among others. His last senior appearance for the Green Army had come back in April 2022 during an ODI series in Australia.

Since then he has found it very difficult to climb up the pecking order. Asif Ali has mainly featured for the B team but even there his final appearance came back in October 2023 during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou which was eventually won by a Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Indian team.

But he caught plenty of fire a couple of weeks ago when he exclaimed that he hits 300 sixes daily during practices. He has now come forward and explained that it was nothing but a misinterpretation and that he doesn’t have enough energy or ability to do so.

“I don’t run on petrol to hit 300 sixes daily. I used to practice hitting sixes during the camp in the NCA, but there was a mistake in my statement and also who wrote.” – Asif Ali told Cricket Pakistan. 

Ali was called up to the national side following his splendid performance in the 2018 edition of Pakistan Super League for Islamabad United. But the promise he showed in PSL was not replicated in his outings as a senior player as his strike rate of over 160 was decreased to 133.87 and it has resulted in him getting dropped from the team.

“I have worked on what I lacked, I will try to show them in PSL”, Asif Ali on his plans for season 9

While speaking to the same outlet, Asif Ali went on to highlight that cricket is a very tough game, claiming that it is a game of pressure and should be handled well. He also claimed that he has gained a lot of experience by playing in several franchises around the world and that he cannot wait to show all of it in PSL 9.

“Cricket is the name of pressure, this thing has to be handled well. I have experience of playing with different teams abroad. I have worked on what I lacked, I will try to show them in PSL. I have not lost hope, if I am lucky, I will make a comeback. The first step is to perform well in PSL,” Asif Ali concluded.