‘I have lost two crucial years of my career, first because of injury and then because of other problems, but now I want to focus on my game and take wickets and help my team win.’

The 26-year-old is part of Pakistan's Test squad for the three-match Test series against New Zealand which opens at Dunedin from November 24 -- he last played in a Test more than two years.


‘I am determined to put my recent past behind me. I have learnt my lessons and now fully geared up to play a leading role in the Test series against New Zealand and then in Australia,’ Asif told AFP.


Asif was recalled for the Champions Trophy in South Africa last month after a one-year ban imposed for a failed dope test in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League expired.


He played just one match in the Champions Trophy and was not selected for the limited-over series against New Zealand because he was not allowed to tour the United Arab Emirates following his deportation last year.


The deportation followed his detention at Dubai airport for 19 days while returning from India after featuring in the IPL in 2008.


He was found in possession of opium but Dubai police deported him after they found the quantity of the drug was ‘insufficient’ to prosecute.


‘I have lost two crucial years of my career, first because of injury and then because of other problems, but now I want to focus on my game and take wickets and help my team win,’ said Asif.


Asif's last Test was against South Africa in Lahore in October 2007.


The bowler, who burst onto the scene in 2005, has been one of Pakistan cricket's most colourful characters.


He hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2006 when, along with controversial fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar, he tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.


Akhtar was banned for two years and Asif for one year, but the bans were overturned on appeal.


Asif said he particularly wants to perform in Australia, where the tourists head to after New Zealand.


‘I made my debut against Australia in 2005 but that Test was remembered for my batting rather than bowling, so I want to do well in Australia because if you perform against the world number one team you become a known player.’

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