Pak vs Aus: Pinch-hitter Asif Ali has Australia in sights

Pakistan's swashbuckling right-handed batter Asif Ali has his sights set on performing well against Australia, who are scheduled to tour Pakistan next year for a full series. 

Speaking to Geo News, Asif Ali said he was looking forward to playing against the Aussies as the series was taking place at home. 

"These matches will take place at different venues across Pakistan. Our fans will enjoy this series," said the right-handed batter. 

Saying that he is waiting "eagerly" for the series to begin, Asif Ali said the Men in Green will try to live up to fans' expectations as Australia are one of the strongest cricketing nations in the world right now. 

The Australia tour isn't the only event Asif Ali has his sights set on. The batter said he is extremely excited for the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to begin. 

"I am happy that fans will once again be able to watch the matches live from the stadium," he said. "I have always tried to give my 100% for my team during the PSL tournament. I will try to do the same this time around too," he added. 

He expressed disappointment at the West Indies tour getting postponed due to COVID-19 problems. However, the batter prayed for the recovery of all the members of the Windies squad who contracted the virus. 

T20 World Cup and criticism prior to that

Before his selection for the T20 World Cup, Asif Ali was among the cricketers whose selections were most criticised by fans, cricket pundits and experts. 

That, however, changed once the star batter won the match for Pakistan against New Zealand in the Men in Green's second outing in the T20 World Cup and did the same against Afghanistan a few days later. 

Asif feels things have changed since his T20 World Cup performances. 

"People now expect more from me" he noted. "I try to work harder and live up to fans' expectations."

Asif Ali said fans have the right to criticise when a player does not live up to his/her expectations. "When you don't play well, people talk about it [negatively]. However, when I played well, they also supported me a lot," he added. 

Asif heaped praises on Pakistan's opening pair Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam, saying that the two deserved praise for their recent stellar performances. 

"They have set a standard when it comes to batting," he said. "I pray Allah continues to bless the two with success so that many more records are broken by the Pakistani team."

Australia tour of Pakistan schedule

Australia will tour Pakistan in March/April 2022. The first Test match between the two sides will be played from March 3 in Karachi while the second Test will be played from March 12-16 in Rawalpindi.

The teams will then play a third Test match on March 21-25 in Lahore.

The Tests will be played as part of the ICC World Test Championship, while the ODIs will be connected to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League – a 13-team event from which the seven highest-placed sides and the hosts, India, will qualify directly for the event proper in 2023.

All four white-ball matches of the series will take place in Lahore from March 29 to April 5, confirmed the PCB.