Asif made his International debut in 2005; against Australia. A wicketless game at Sydney was not the start he would have hoped for but the raw product was there to see. By 2006, Asif had become a household name. Performances against India in Karachi and Sri Lanka in Kandy were some of the best seen. It seemed Asif could pitch the ball on the same spot at will every time and make the ball talk his language.

At moments of great enthusiasm it seemed to me that no one in the world has ever made something this beautiful and pleasing to the eye than seeing Asif bowling at his pomp. The in-swingers that Asif bowled were near unplayable; he along with Glen McGrath revolutionised people’s opinions that you had to bowl at 140+ to be feared.

Yet what did come with Asif was extra baggage. He failed a drugs test in October 2006 along with Shoaib Akhtar. This was on the eve of the ICC Champions Trophy and both players had to be dropped. There was an incident of Asif being hit by Akhtar with a bat in 2007 and he was caught in possession of drugs in Dubai Airport; returning to Pakistan from the IPL.

Imran introduced a left armer in 1984, his name was Wasim Akram. Wasim is regarded by most as the best left handed Fast bowler in history. Wasim had magic in his left arm. He literally made the ball talk at will. The out-swinger, the in-swinger, yorker,  bouncer he had it all both from over or around the wicket. Wasim was the dream bowler for any captain to have, a man that can win a game from the jaws of defeat, and who turned out to be one half of the greatest opening bowling partnership I have ever seen. 

Waqar Younis was the other one in this dream act. Waqar was express pace. Quicker than Wasim, and the man that possessed a yorker that only Joel Garner could ever get near. Waqar tore many batsman apart, quite literally. Waqar was a prime example of why fast bowlers can be made but are a natural breed. You just can't coach natural pace, skill and aggression into a person.