Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal believes he could have achieved the extraordinary feat of taking 1,000 wickets if he had played for India.
Ajmal, considered one of the best bowlers in the world, picked up 447 wickets in 212 matches, consistently troubling batsmen with his deceptive variations. He even reached the top spot in the ODI and T20I Rankings.
However, Ajmal’s career was cut short when he was banned by the ICC in 2014. Reflecting on his career, the spinner expressed his confidence, stating that his consistent performance would have allowed him to reach the 1,000-wicket milestone had he been part of the Indian cricket team.
Ajmal believed the authorities should have intervened earlier in his career, stopping him during his debut in 2009 when he had already become a formidable force. However, action was only taken after he had amassed 448 wickets, highlighting the need to find a way to halt his dominance.
“They should have stopped me in 2009 but they still let me play. They realised there has to be a mechanism to stop him after I claimed 448 wickets, so they took the appropriate action. I was the best bowler in the world until I was prohibited from bowling, Ajmal said.