Nothing 'special' about current Pakistan pace attack, says Mohammad Asif

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who was convicted in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, believes there is nothing "special" about the pace attack of the current national team.

"We talk about talent...but this is all the talent that we have. I don't think there is anything special about our pacers. It is an average sort of attack," Asif was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

"To develop something special, you must work hard. And of course some have abilities which are God-gifted. I've played a full season now but I didn't see anything special be it Rahat [Ali] or Imran Khan or Sohail Khan," he added.

The right-arm pacer also expressed disappointment at the slow pitches being prepared in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for Pakistan Tests, saying they have "deteriorated the standard" of their cricket.

"We get wickets in the UAE that favour our spinners. Yes we have won matches there and that has improved our rankings, but the truth is that playing constantly on the UAE pitches have deteriorated the standard of our cricket," he said.

The 33-year-old is off the view that Pakistan should shift 'home' venue to South Africa or Sri Lanka where the pitches are better and conditions more competitive.

"Even Sri Lanka has better pitches compared to UAE," he remarked.

Expressing his views on the recent 0-2 whitewash in the Test series against New Zealand, Asif lamented the way Pakistan batting was exposed on the tour saying, "A little more bounce and swing made batting a different ball game for our players there," he said. "These things must be noted by the experts and the coaches as well as the PCB."

"We could face a similar situation in Australia as well though pitches there will be relatively better," he said.

The right-arm medium pacer also called for grooming youngsters at the academies including National Cricket Academy (NCA) for better results.

"You see New Zealand has come up with a fine team in a population of three million. We are 200 million but our batting survives in Dubai alone where there is low bounce which can easily be negotiated", he said.

Asif has represented his country in 23 Tests, 38 ODIs and 11 T20s. He made his Test debut against Australia and ODI debut against England in 2005.