KM Asif

KM Asif was just three first-class, eight List-A, 13 T20s, and 2 IPL games old, when he broke the internet. A quick fiery speedster picked up by Chennai Super Kings, ahead of 2018 IPL, on the back of a handful of professional games, but Asif had a truckload of tennis-ball experience on his back. Now circling back to the viral gig, the speedster had millions and millions of views when he tackled MS Dhoni’s stumps in 2020, which made him the headline of various news copies. 

Born in Kerala, Asif was initially a football player who got in cricket’s direction on a friend’s advice. Then he started playing tennis ball cricket before a piece of advice by Jeff Thomson turned Asif’s world upside down. The Kerala-born pacer started taking the game seriously and got into professional, hard-ball cricket. And even before making his debut for Kerala, Asif was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders as a net bowler in 2017. 

Asif made his Kerala debut during the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he impressed by picking five wickets in just two games. The speedster was then called to make his List-A debut, against Himachal Pradesh, and bagged three huge scalps. Success in his maiden domestic season meant Asif was grabbed by CSK, ahead of the 2018 IPL. The speedster made his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals to pick two wickets but didn’t play more than a game in that season. 

He made his first-class debut during the 2019-20 Ranji trophy season, he played three games but bowled horrendously then. Asif is a huge fan of Dale Steyn and has the traits just like the South African. He is quick, he is fiery, he is aggressive and just like Steyn, he too is injury prone. Therefore, despite making his domestic debut back in 2017, Asif hasn’t played many professional games. 

The Kerala-based speedster has been with the Chennai-based franchise since 2018, but with a large pool of players present, Asif is mostly seen warming the benches. However, whenever he gets his due run, he will have to capitalize on it. 

(As of June 2021)