Asif Ali (cricketer, born 1991)

Asif Ali (Punjabi:آصف علی; born 1 October 1991) is a Pakistani cricketer playing for the Pakistan national cricket team. In first-class cricket, Asif represents Northern, and he plays for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.^[3]

Asif Ali

Personal information
Born	(1991-10-01) 1 October 1991 (age 32) Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname	Laparu^[1]
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)^[2]
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Middle-order batter
International information
National side	Pakistan (2018–2022)
ODI debut (cap 217)	13 July 2018 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI	2 April 2022 v Australia
T20I debut (cap 76)	1 April 2018 v West Indies
Last T20I	23 October 2022 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2010/11–2017/18	Faisalabad
2013	United Bank Limited
2014	Punjab
2016–present	Islamabad United (squad no. 13)
2016/17–2018/19	Rawalpindi
2016/17–2018/19	Sui Northern Gas
2018–2019	Cape Town Blitz
2018/19	Islamabad
2018/19	Sindh
2019/20–2021/22	Northern
2019/20	Dhaka Platoon
2020	Jamaica Tallawahs
2021	St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
2022/23	Hobart Hurricanes
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I LA T20 Matches 21 55 83 258 Runs scored 382 544 2,089 4,220 Batting average 25.46 15.11 29.84 22.56 100s/50s 0/3 0/0 4/11 1/14 Top score 52 41* 138 100 Balls bowled 5 – 70 42 Wickets 0 – 3 4 Bowling average – – 30.66 13.25 5 wickets in innings 0 – 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 – 0 0 Best bowling – – 2/10 2/27 Catches/stumpings 6/– 18/– 33/– 103/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 15 January 2023

He is one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).^[4][5]

Early life

Asif was born on 1 October 1991, in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Domestic and T20 franchise career

Misbah-ul-Haq has played an instrumental role in his development as a cricketer and initially picked him as a power-hitter in the 2011 Super 8 Twenty20 Cup when he was a captain of the Faisalabad cricket team.^[6]

He was the leading run-scorer for Faisalabad in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 369 runs in six matches.^[7] He also played in the 2017 Everest Premier league for Pokhara Rhinos.^[8]

In April 2018, he was named in Punjab's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup.^[9][10] He scored the most runs for Punjab during the tournament, with 328 runs in four matches.^[11]

On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Edmonton Royals in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament.^[12][13] In October 2018, he was named in Cape Town Blitz's squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament.^[14][15]

In March 2019, he was named in Sindh's squad for the 2019 Pakistan Cup.^[16][17] In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Cape Town Blitz team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament.^[18]

In September 2019, he was named in Northern's squad for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.^[19][20] In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Dhaka Platoon in the 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League.^[21]

In July 2020, he was named in the Jamaica Tallawahs squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.^[22][23] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Jaffna Stallions for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[24] In January 2021, he was named in Northern's squad for the 2020–21 Pakistan Cup.^[25][26]

He was picked by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for CPL 2021.^[27][28] In December 2021, he was signed by Islamabad United following the players' draft for the 2022 Pakistan Super League.^[29] In July 2022, he was signed by the Colombo Stars for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[30]

In August 2022, he was signed by the Hobart Hurricanes for BBL 12.^[31]

International career

In Mar 2018, he was named in Pakistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against the West Indies.^[32][33] He made his T20I debut for Pakistan against the West Indies on 1 April 2018.^[34] He made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe on 13 July 2018.^[35]

In May 2019, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named their final fifteen-man squad for the tournament.^[36][37] Ali struggled to make an impact in the first three years of his international career, and was often sidelined from the team.^[38][39]

2021 ICC T20 World Cup

In September 2021, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.^[40] His selection was criticized by many people including ex-cricketers^[41][42][43] but he proved his selection right by scoring crucial runs against New Zealand and Afghanistan.^{[44][45][46][47]} He won the man of the match award for scoring unbeaten 25 off 7 balls against Afghanistan.^[48][49]

Asif Ali won the Player of the Month award in November 2021 for his match-winning performances for Pakistan during the T20 World Cup.^[50][51]

Asia Cup 2022

He was named in the Pakistan's squad for the Asia Cup 2022.^[52] On September 8, 2022, he was fined 25% of match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the match against Afghanistan after he got involved in a heated exchange with Afghanistan's bowler Fareed Ahmad.^[53]

References

1. "Keep calm and celebrate like a #Prince – The story behind Islamabad United nicknames". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
2. "Asif Ali's profile on CREX".
3. "Asif Ali". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
4. "PCB Central Contracts 2018–19". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
5. "New central contracts guarantee earnings boost for Pakistan players". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
6. "Iron man Asif Ali hits his way to stardom". DAWN.COM. 30 October 2021.
7. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2017/18: Faisalabad Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
8. "Asif Ali profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
9. "Pakistan Cup one-day tournament to begin in Faisalabad next week". Geo TV. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
10. "Pakistan Cup Cricket from 25th". The News International. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
11. "Pakistan Cup 2018, Punjab: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
12. "Global T20 Canada: Complete Squads". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
13. "Global T20 Canada League – Full Squads announced". CricTracker. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
14. "Mzansi Super League - full squad lists". Sport24. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
15. "Mzansi Super League Player Draft: The story so far". Independent Online. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
16. "Federal Areas aim to complete hat-trick of Pakistan Cup titles". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
17. "Pakistan Cup one-day cricket from April 2". The International News. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
18. . Cricket South Africa. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
19. "PCB announces squads for 2019-20 domestic season". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
20. "Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam to take charge of Pakistan domestic sides". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
21. "BPL draft: Tamim Iqbal to team up with coach Mohammad Salahuddin for Dhaka". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
22. "Nabi, Lamichhane, Dunk earn big in CPL 2020 draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
23. "Teams Selected for Hero CPL 2020". Cricket West Indies. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
24. "Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
25. "Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament promises action-packed cricket". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
26. "Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament: Fixtures Schedule, Teams, Player Squads – All you need to Know". Cricket World. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
27. "Asif joins St Kitts and Nevis Patriots". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
28. "Asif Ali Joins St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for CPL 2021". from the original on 31 October 2021.
29. "Franchises finalise squad for HBL PSL 2022". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
30. "LPL 2022 draft: Kandy Falcons sign Hasaranga; Rajapaksa to turn out for Dambulla Giants". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
31. "Hobart Hurricanes pick Shadab, Asif, and Faheem for BBL 12". www.geosuper.tv. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
32. "Asif Ali, Talat and Shaheen Afridi picked for WI T20Is". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
33. "Afridi, Talat, Ali bring gush of youth to Pakistan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
34. "1st T20I, West Indies tour of Pakistan at Karachi, Apr 1 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
35. "1st ODI, Pakistan Tour of Zimbabwe at Bulawayo, Jul 13 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
36. "Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali included in Pakistan World Cup squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
37. "Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz named in Pakistan's World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
38. Khan, Khalid H. (25 April 2021). "ANALYSIS: Brittle Pakistan must resolve Asif Ali enigma before T20 World Cup". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
39. "Can Pakistan get the real Asif Ali to show up more often?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
40. "Sharjeel Khan dropped from T20 World Cup squad; Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah make 15-man cut". ESPN Cricnfo. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
41. "'Stop criticising for once. It's annoying and frustrating': 'Angry' Wasim Akram reacts to backlash received by PCB". Hindustan Times. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
42. "Wasim Akram calls for end to criticism of Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad: It's annoying and frustrating". India Today. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
43. "T20 World Cup: Sohaib Maqsood responds to Fahad Mustafa over his criticism of Asif Ali". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
44. "Late cameo from Asif Ali fires Pakistan past New Zealand at T20 World Cup". the Guardian. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
45. "Asif Ali, the new finisher in town". The Indian Express. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
46. "Asif Ali thanks his believers as he comes good in green again". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
47. "'Remember the name 2.0': How Asif Ali took Pakistan home in Dubai". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
48. "'Asif you beauty': Celebrities cheer on Asif Ali after his match winning performance against Afghanistan". Images. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
49. "Iron man Asif Ali hits his way to stardom". DAWN.COM. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
50. "ICC Players of the Month for October revealed". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
51. "T20 World Cup: Pakistan's 'Finisher' Asif Ali voted ICC Player of the Month". geo.tv. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
52. "All the squads for 2022 Asia Cup". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
53. "Asif Ali and Fareed Ahmad punished for breaching ICC Code of Conduct". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.

External links

• Asif Ali at ESPNcricinfo