'I Felt That I Wasn’t Getting The Respect I Deserved': Mohammad Amir On Quitting International Cricket

Former Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir’s career held plenty of promise, a lot left to be desired, and finally ended largely unfulfilled after he retired unceremoniously in 2020. Mohammad Amir’s early part of the career was beleaguered by his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, costing five years of them. Later, Amir had issues with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and revealed that lack of respect forced him to quit international cricket.

Mohammad Amir was one of the promising pacers in international cricket when he debuted as a teenager. The left-arm seamer played an integral role in the national team’s win in the 2009 ICC World T20 in England. After coming back from a five-year ban in 2015, Amir bowled the spell of his life in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy as the men in green beat India by 158 runs. But he was consistent for the most part and could not cement his spot.

Mohammad Amir, who featured in 36 Tests, 61 ODIs, and 50 T20Is, highlighted that retiring was not an easy decision to make and he arrived at it after consulting all his closed ones. The 29-year old wishes that none of the young players earmarked for the future do not have to undergo all the ugly things he went through.

“Retiring from playing for your beloved country isn’t an easy step to take. I thought a lot about this decision, I spoke to those close to me and only then did I reach this decision. If I go into all of the details and re-open all those chapters then it will get very ugly. I hope that our players, especially the youngsters in future don’t have to face what I had to face as I don’t want our younger players to get disheartened and have to sacrifice their careers like I did,” Amir told Pak Passion.Net.

We all should move on, as right now I am happy with my life: Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir further claimed that he was not getting the respect he deserved, prompting him to retire from international cricket. The Punjab-born speedster revealed that similar to Pakistan Cricket Board having a job to do, he has a career to look forward to as well and he is happy with his current life.

“What matters most to me is respect and I felt that I wasn’t getting the respect I deserved and that’s why I took the decision to retire. The people in charge of Pakistan cricket have their job to do, they have their responsibilities and have their decisions to make, and I have my career to continue and look forward to, so we all should move on, as right now I am happy with my life,” he added.

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