Former England star batsman Kevin Pietersen on Monday rated Mohammad Asif as the best he has faced in his career and believed many of the world's top batsmen were "happy" when the tainted Pakistan pacer was banned for spot-fixing.

Asif along with teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir was handed lengthy suspensions by the International Cricket Council over their involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal in England.



"I think there's plenty batters around the world that were happy he got banned!

He was the best I faced! I had no idea against him!" Pietersen tweeted alongside a clip from a Test match in 2006.

During the game, Asif dismissed Pietersen for a golden duck with a delivery that swung late before inducing an edge into the hands of wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.

In 23 Tests, the speedster picked up 106 wickets and regularly troubled the best of batsmen with his prodigious swing and pace.

While Air made a comeback to international cricket, Asif, whom many believe was the kingpin of fixers found his career come to an inglorious end. Butt however plays domestic cricket.