Mohammad Amir comes out of retirement, makes himself available for selection

Former Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir has withdrawn his retirement and is available for selection in the Pakistan team. Amir had prematurely ended his career last year after a fallout with Pakistan management. However, with Misbah ul Haq and Waqar Younis stepping down from their posts, Amir decided to come out of his retirement.

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Even though Amir is available for selection, it is unlikely that Pakistan will draft him into the T20 World Cup squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their 15-member squad yesterday and unless there is a string of injuries, Amir won’t play the World Cup. The pacer, however, can eye the home series against Australia next year for a return and the PSL 7 will provide him the platform to make a case for himself.

Amir has represented Pakistan in 50 T20I games, picking up 59 wickets at an economy of 7.02. He last represented Pakistan during the second T20I against England in Manchester in 2020. While Amir retired from international cricket, he continued playing franchise cricket all around the globe.

He played for Karachi Kings in the PSL 6 before plying his trade for London Spirit in the Hundred. He also took part in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and played for Pune Devils. Currently, he is representing Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League.

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Earlier, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam had said he will have a word with Mohammad Amir about his decision to retire from cricket and if possible, he will ask him to reconsider his decision.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet but we will discuss the problems he is facing when I get the opportunity to talk to him,” said Babar to Cricket Pakistan.

“He is one of the best left-arm bowlers and I really like him. I’m hopeful that he continues to perform well in the upcoming second half of PSL,” he added.

Amir is just 29 and there are good four-five years of cricket left in him. With Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Pakistan have a formidable bowling lineup and if Amir is also available, it will be a big plus for Pakistan.