Mohammad Asif opens up about fall from grace

33-year-old pacer says that the hardest time of his life was when he was in prison

Right-arm pacer Mohammad Asif, who last played for Pakistan in 2010, revealed on Tuesday how his ban from cricket and prison sentence affected him after he was found guilty on charges of spot-fixing at Lord’s six years ago.

In an interview with BBC Sports, Asif said that the hardest time of his life was when he was in prison for six months in England. “The first couple of days [in prison] were pretty hard,” he said. “From being a national hero to suddenly ending up in jail – not everyone can endure such a huge fall.”

Six years ago, the right-arm bowler was ranked second in the world in Tests behind South Africa’s Dale Steyn. However, the 2010 Test at Lord’s cricket ground brought his downfall as he was implicated on charges of spot-fixing alongside new-ball partner Mohammad Amir and then Test captain Salman Butt, when the trio agreed to bowl no-balls in return for payment as part of a betting scam.

Subsequently, Asif was banned for seven years (two suspended) by the International Cricket Council, with Butt for 10 years (five suspended), and Amir for five years. Correspondingly, Asif was sentenced to one year in prison.



Talking about his involvement in spot-fixing, the 33-year-old said that everyone makes mistakes in life, but they should be allowed to move on.

“Every human being has made a mistake,” he said. “We made a mistake, we apologised and, after a mistake, everyone has the right to come back on track,” he added.

Since his ban, Asif has actively taken part in programs to reach out to youngsters and warn them about the dangers of spot-fixing.

“I have helped a lot with the Pakistan Cricket Board, visiting schools and regional teams to educate them to do right,” he said. “I told them not to go wrong. Cricket is a gentleman’s game, so play like a gentleman,” he added.



Asif is currently playing club cricket in Norway to gain fitness for the Pakistani domestic season in September. He hopes to be back in contention for Pakistan’s tours of Australia and New Zealand.

“The next season is very important for me. I want to come back and play at a good international standard, so I need to work hard and train hard,” he said.

“I need to get fit, perform well and then my aim is to go with the team on the Australia and New Zealand tour,” he added.