I don't know a single person who was not surprised by seeing Bilal Asif's name in the Pakistan squad for the test series against Australia. Everyone wondered why he was the only off spinner in the squad and asked where were all the other off spinners.

I was quite sure that Bilal Asif will not play a single game and that thought became even more certain when Pakistan called up Mohammad Hafeez to join the squad.

But then, Shadab did not recover from his injury and on the eve of the first test against Australia, Sarfraz announced that Bilal Asif will play.

I read someone's social media post that said that this was Pakistan's weakest bowling attack ever. Even I was skeptical about the support for Abbas and Yasir, so I did not even bother to refute that statement.

And then on day 3 of the first test, Bilal Asif surprised not only Australia but all of Pakistan too!

Bilal Asif's magic made the Aussies fold like a pack of cards as they lost 10 wickets, 6 of them to Asif, for 60 runs in 30 odd overs resulting in one of the worst ever collapses in Australia's test history.

Asif's 6-36 is the third best bowling figures in an innings by a Pakistani debutant and the second best by a Pakistani debutant off spinner.

Look at that average, economy, and strike rate. Never has a Pakistani debutant dominated the way Bilal Asif did.

Pakistanis love to create the unexpected, don't they? I don't know any other team that dismisses the fans' expectations, both good and bad, like Pakistan does!

Asif's figures are not only one of the best ever for a Pakistani debutant, but they are one of the best among all off spinners on debut.

Fourth best to be exact, but again no debutant has done it as economically or as destructively as Asif did against Australia.

And that holds true among all bowlers that have made their test debut against Australia.

No one has produced as a good a spell as Asif's 6-36 on debut against Australia.

It is not surprising that no one considered Asif to be test material before the series started. He doesn't have a first class record that showcases abundant talent, nor does he have domestic performance that have startled, yet the Pakistan selectors and the team management saw something in him.

That something paid off yesterday.

Fortunately, Shadab Khan was not fit for this test, because if he was then I doubt Asif would have ever gotten a chance. And the way Pakistan's other leg spinner went in the first innings, wicketless, Pakistan may not have been in the position they are in now had Asif not been in the XI.

So thank you Inzamam, thank you Sarfraz and Mickey, and thank you Shadab for letting us witness the heroics of Bilal Asif.

Asif addressed the media at the end of day 3 and you can watch the video on our Facebook page. Here is a transcript of what he had to say:

There was no surprise when Pakistan captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, won the toss and elected to bat first under the scorching Dubai sun in the first test against Australia.

Before the toss, Pakistan handed a Test cap to off spinner Bilal Asif, while Australia handed out three caps to Aaron Finch, Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne.


Mohammad Hafeez, making his comeback to the test side after two years, and Imam Ul Haq, wasted no time in ensuring that Sarfraz had made the right call at the toss.

Pakistan's openers dominated the proceedings for the first two sessions and out in 205 runs for the first wicket, in what was the 5th double century opening stand for Pakistan in the history of their test cricket.

Hafeez made his comeback memorable by knocking a superb century. His 126 was laced with 15 boundaries and it seemed as if he was never away from Pakistan's test team.


Hafeez has had numerous comebacks to the Pakistan team and every single one of them has been with a bang!

When he returned to the team at the Oval in 2006, he was playing a test after a gap of 3 years and showed everyone what Pakistan had been missing when he scored 95.

The second comeback that I remember was in 2010 against South Africa when Misbah took charge of the team. Then he came back with a 60 against an attack that included Dale Steyn.

And now, he bettered all his previous comebacks with a scintillating 126!

His opening partner, Imam-Ul-Haq continued the awesome start that his career has had, but he would be disappointed to miss out on his first test century after departing for a flawless 76.


It was a brilliant start from Pakistan's openers, but following their departure, Pakistan gave back some of the initiative that they had snatched away from Australia. At 205-1, one would think that the new batsmen would try to dominate the bowling that would have been tired out by the openers.

However, both Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail batted as if the scoreline was 2-2 and not 222-2!

If anything they showed the quality of the innings that Hafeez and Imam played in more challenging conditions.

It was still Pakistan's day with 250 odd on the board and only 3 wickets down, but it did not end at the same dominant note that it had started.