Mohammad Hafeez spills Mohammad Amir on possible national team comeback. Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from international cricket in December 2020, citing’mental torture’ by team management.
Amir, a former Pakistan fast bowler, withdrew from international cricket in December 2020, citing’mental torture’ by team management. However, speculations of his comeback spread throughout the country with a shift in the leadership of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in December 2022, following the firing of the then-Chairman Ramiz Raja.
Recently, Pakistan’s newly appointed team director, Mohammad Hafeez, who will accompany the squad as a head coach in the forthcoming three-match Test series in Australia, disclosed a recent chat with Amir in which he discussed his future.
“I called Amir and told him that if he wanted to play for Pakistan, he had to first reverse his retirement.” ‘Return to domestic cricket and perform. The selection committee will next evaluate your performance and choose you. I assured him that if he returned to Pakistan, he would be given equal opportunity. He claimed to have already moved on. He feels his priorities have shifted and his life has transformed. And we must accept his choice,” Hafeez was reported as saying by Hindustan Times.
Hafeez went on to say that Amir isn’t interested in starting again and would rather play in overseas leagues.
“He told me he feels better playing at international leagues. He does not want to start from scratch again. That is his decision, and we have to respect that,” he added.
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Mohammad Amir last played for Pakistan in August 2020
Notably, Amir made his international debut against England in a T20I in 2009 and rose to prominence owing to his ability to swing the ball both ways. However, owing to his role in the 2010 spot-fixing incident in England, he nearly ruined his career and risked a five-year penalty.
Amir had a great return in 2017, helping Pakistan win the Champions Trophy with his fantastic new ball session in the final, scalping the important wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shikhar Dhawan.
He also concluded the 2019 World Cup as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker, with 17 wickets from eight matches. He last played for Pakistan in a Twenty20 International against England in August 2020. The 31-year-old took 119 and 81 wickets in 36 Tests and 61 One-Day Internationals, respectively. The left-arm seamer also took 59 wickets in 50 T20Is.
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