Ditching Australia to rep Pakistan not on purpose, Usman Qadir admits

Wrist-spinner Usman Qadir has admitted that abandoning his ambitions to represent Australia were not on purpose, admitting that his hopes of becoming an Australian citizen in time for next year’s T20I World Cup were slim, cricket.com.au, reported on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old is set to instead fulfill the wish of his late father – the legendary Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir, who passed away last month - by making his international debut for Pakistan, having returned to his native country earlier this year and last week earning a call-up for their T20I tour of Australia.

Usman said he found out about his selection from his overjoyed wife, who called him after seeing he had been picked on the news three days after she had given birth to their first daughter.

He had been in the process of applying for a permanent Australian visa, having represented Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers in all three formats last summer after impressing former state coach Justin Langer during a trial.

Also Read: Out of nowhere: What prompted Usman Qadir’s selection for Australia tour?

The legspinner also turned heads in last year’s Prime Minister’s XI match against South Africa.

He had expressed his wish to represent Australia at the 2020 T20 World Cup.

But he played four games for Central Punjab in Pakistan’s domestic T20I competition earlier this month before new coach-selector Misbah-ul-Haq picked him for three-match Gillette T20I series in Australia.

"My ambition was to play for Australia before. I said to my father I did not get any chances to play in Pakistan. I wanted to go to Australia and wanted to make a career over there," Usman said.

"My father said, 'My wish is for you to play for Pakistan, for your own country. If you want to go there (to Australia), you can – it’s your own decision. But my dream is for you to play for Pakistan.'"

"[Then] the PCB put my name in for the national T20I (domestic tournament)," he added.

"I played four games there. I did not take lots of wickets, but the selectors really liked me and said, 'we’re going to pick you'.

"I said, 'Okay that’s fine.

"That’s not a U-turn. I played all the cricket but unfortunately if I wanted to play T20I for Australia, I have to be a local there.

"Everyone said to me that I had made a U-turn – I didn't make a U-turn.

"I said before that I wanted to play for Australia but … it's a big opportunity to play for your own country."

He first made his mark in Australia during the 2012 Under-19 World Cup in Queensland.

Also Read: Once dreaming of playing for Australia, Usman Qadir vows to carry on father’s legacy

While he only picked up four wickets for the tournament, it was enough to secure him a Premier Cricket stint with Adelaide Cricket Club in which he collected 41 wickets in 12 games.

He returned home and was picked for the National Bank of Pakistan in the country's domestic competitions.

"They are very good people and when I got selected for the Pakistan team, they messaged me and congratulated me, and that's a good sign," he said.

"I really learned a lot in Australia, playing in the Big Bash and in the (domestic) one-dayers. It's a good thing I've already played there.

"Australian cricketers are really good… if you're a spinner, they attack you, they come really hard. If you have the basics, you can do well."

Usman said he was looking forward to again seeing the now-Australia coach Langer.

"I don't know what they (the Australians) are going to say to me," he said. "But he (Langer) is a very nice guy, very down to earth. 

"Every time [I see him] he encourages me, and gives me good advice. I learned a lot from him."

"I’m a left-handed batsman as well so whenever I have had difficulties, I watch Justin Langer because he was a great player," he added.