'Debut se pehle mere ko bola gaya ye mera pehla aur aakhri match hai': Pakistan great makes jaw-dropping revelation
The Pakistan legend made a rather explosive revelation as he recalled his international debut for the side in 2008.
Pakistan may have had a rich fast bowling history, but the country's sides has had their fair share of world class spinners from time to time. One such spinner was Saeed Ajmal, who cemented his place as one of the leading bowlers in the world during his time in the Pakistan team from 2008-2015. Ajmal received his maiden international cap significantly later in his career – at the age of 21 – but represented the team in 35 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is.
However, Ajmal has now revealed that he endured a significantly tough debut in 2008, where he was told that it would be his “first and the last” match. Ajmal had earlier spoke about how the-then Pakistan chief selector had said that he could play out the spinner in the nets without being dismissed. The former spinner had made his debut against India in the Asia Cup in July 2008, and registered figures of 1/47 in 10 overs in an ODI, taking the wicket of Yusuf Pathan.
“Jab main aaya, toh pehla match India ke khilaaf mila. Debut se pehle mere ko kaha gaya ki ye mera pehla aur aakhiri match hai. Kaha gaya ki Saeed Ajmal perform karta hai toh khelega, nahi karta toh nahi khelega. Aur match India se tha, saari duniya dekhti hai vo match. (I got my first match against India. Before my debut, I was told that this would be my first and the last match. They said that if I performed well, I would play and if I don't do well, I won't. And the match was against India; the entire world watches that game),” Ajmal narrated the story on the Ultra Edge podcast.
"Jab main andar gaya, mujhe cramp pad gaye pehle hi 10 over me. Misbah kaptaan tha uss time, aur usne bola tujhe powerplay me over karna hai. Maine Misbah ko kaha ki mujhe cramp padh rahe hain, mujhe jaldi over de de taaki main over karke bahar chala jau. Misbah bola, 'ye kya keh rahe ho? Mujhe tumko aakhri over dene hain'. (When I went inside, I faced cramps. Misbah was the captain, and he told me I had to do overs in the powerplay. I said that I'm having cramps, give me overs now and let me leave. He replied, 'what are you saying? I have to give you overs in the end).
"Mujhe aur cramps pade. Pehle 5 over kiye, achhi bowling ki. Maine koi doosra nahi kiya, mujhe bas runs rokne the. Uske baad main patti baandh ke aaya, 3-4 ovesr kiye, fir cramp pad gaye. (I had more cramps. I bowled my first five overs and did well. I didn't bowl the doosra. I contained runs. Then, I bandaged myself, bowled 3-4 overs and faced cramps again).
“Crowd ne pressure kiya tha, media ne kiya tha. Sab kuch bardaasht kiya, aakhiri over kiya, uske baad maine jo bowling ki. Maza aaya. (There was the pressure of the crowd and media. I tolerated everything but I bowled the final over. It was fun),” Ajmal said.
Ajmal picked Yusuf Pathan's wicket in his final over of the Indian innings and Pakistan went on to win the match by 8 wickets.
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