Waqar Younis L and Mohammad Asif Picture Credit: Getty Images
Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has accused his compatriot and legendary pacer Waqar Younis of cheating. Asif said that Younis used to cheat with the ball to get reverse in international cricket. He also took a dig at Waqar's ability as a coach saying that the master of reverse swing bowling hasn't been able to produce a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swinging delivery.
Notably, both Waqar and Asif are two fine bowlers known for their ability to generate reverse swing. However, while Waqar ended his career as one of the all-time greats, Asif was involved in the infamous spot-fixing scandal that took place during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010. Although Asif did not play international cricket with Waqar who retired in 2003, two years before Asif was to make his debut, he has levelled some serious allegations against him.
Waqar didn’t know how to bowl with the new ball, says Asif
"He [Waqar] used to cheat with the ball to do reverse swing. He didn’t know how to bowl with the new ball in most of his career. He learned a bit about bowling a new ball in the twilight phase of his career," Asif said in an interview with Ary News.
“You know him as a master of reverse swing but he never developed a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swing. These people are in coaching for the last 20 years but they never produced quality bowlers. They lack consistency in making combinations. We have quantity, not quality bowlers. There is a pool of eight pacers and they are being rotated with no plan. This approach needs to be changed,” added Asif.