Sami Aslam reveals the reason behind leaving Pakistan

Ex-Test cricketer served Pakistan in 13 Tests and four ODIs

May 06, 2023
Sami Aslam plays a shot — Reuters

Former cricketer Sami Aslam has shared why he left Pakistan to go the United States (US). The 27-year-old represented the Green shirts in 13 Tests and four ODIs.

While talking to Geo News, Sami said that he left Pakistan due to a number of reasons.

“The main reason behind leaving Pakistan was due to the lack of opportunities,” said the 27-year-old cricketer. “I still play cricket in America."

Sami said that too many thoughts crossed his mind once he decided to leave Pakistan.

“There were many doubts in my mind when I decided to leave Pakistan but whenever you get a good chance in life, you should not let it slip,” said Sami. “Even other than cricket, there are many opportunities in the USA, that is why I’m satisfied with my decision.”

He said that when you are performing good in domestic, you believe that you are going to be selected.

“I scored 900 runs in the new domestic structure, averaged 80, when you are performing, you believe that even if there was a squad of five players to be announced, you would be in it," he said.

“The squad was announced after Covid, and I was not in it, after that I told myself that if you cannot get selected for a 30-man squad, then you probably are never going to be selected again.”

Sami believes that he could have served his country for a long time but that could not happen due to which he feels sad at times.

“It was my dream to serve Pakistan for a long time. Yes, I think about that sometimes but there is more to life than cricket,” he said.

It is being said that Sami lives in the Silicon Valley in California, America, same place where influential personalities as Tesla’s owner Elon Musk lives.

It must be noted that he started his career in 2015 but he did not get any chance after 2017. He has also featured in 76 first-class, 80 list-A matches, and 34 T20 matches.

Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.

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