The legendary fast bowler, Waqar Younis, has praised Asif Ali for showing character in his team’s win over Karachi Kings on Thursday. Despite getting bad news from the hospital regarding his daughter’s diagnosis of cancer, Asif Ali stayed focused to win the match for his side.
While the Man of the Match award went to Alex Hales in the first Eliminator, it could easily have been Asif Ali’s.
Talking about the condition of Asif’s daughter, Waqar Younis said:
Hats off to him, it isn’t easy. He’s been going through this for the last year. Coming out and playing a tournament like this, it’s heartbreaking, what we’re hearing from the hospital and the news coming through.
The right-handed batsman came out to bat at a difficult time after the departure of Hales at a team total of 4/114, needing 48 from 26 balls.
From there on, Asif struck 24 runs from just 10 balls, guiding his team to victory with 3 balls to spare.
It takes heart to keep yourself focused knowing that your loved one is in pain and Asif Ali has shown that he has an iron will and steel nerves to keep going despite such a heartbreaking situation.
Not just this, we are seeing a better version of Asif Ali this season as he is among the leading run local scorers and has fully embraced the role of a finisher for his team. He has won two to three matches from crunch situations and it bodes well for Pakistan cricket with the World Cup drawing near.
