IRE vs PAK: "I've lost 9 years..." - Mohammad Amir makes sincere request to cricket world over his spot-fixing row

Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir has admitted that he has moved on from the spot-fixing row that he committed alongside seniors Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. 

Following the trials in a British court, Mohammad Amir was handed a ban by the International Cricket Council. After serving his ban Amir returned to competitive cricket in 2016 and he was also a part of the Pakistani team which defeated India during the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final. He also played the 2019 50-over World Cup in England. 

In 2020, Mohammad Amir decided to retire from international cricket and since then he has played in T20 leagues around the world. But after Amir's decent performances in the shortest format for different franchises, the Pakistan Cricket Board gave him a call-up along with Imad Wasim who had also retired in 2023. 

Last month, during Pakistan's home T20I series against New Zealand, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim both made their returns to the international level. They are currently gearing up for their tour of Ireland and England for a 3-match and 4-match T20I series later this month before flying off to the USA and West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

What did Mohammad Amir say about his ban? 

While speaking to a Pakistan-based Journalist, Mohammad Amir shed light on his mindset after he served the 5-year ban for the spot-fixing scandal. Amir highlighted how 9 years of his cricketing career got wasted due to the ban but he is at ease with that, knowing that he has done his penance for the mistake. 

Amir stated that he has moved on from it and the best for him to do was to accept his fate, which is written by the lord above. He also urged the fans to move on from the scandal.

"I have done penance for that big mistake and if you look at my career I was banned from 2010 to 2015 and took retirement from 2020 to 2024 so I have lost nine years but I accept it all as God's will and I have moved on." - Amir told a local Pakistani Journalist. 

Amir sheds light on criticism directed towards him and Imad Wasim 

Mohammad Amir was also asked to share his thoughts on the criticism that he and Imad Wasim have come up against for selection in the Pakistani squad for the T20 World Cup. 

The left-armer reminded everyone that Wasim and himself have played enough cricket in the Pakistan Super League and have also actively participated in other leagues. There, Amir threw the question back to the haters, asking what was wrong about their selection in the shortest format when they have regularly played T20 cricket. 

"There has been a lot of criticism by some people on me and Imad being selected without playing domestic cricket. I ask them what is Pakistan's premier domestic T20 event. The PSL. And both of us (Imad) have played and performed in the PSL besides appearing regularly in other leagues. So what is wrong with selecting us for the T20 format?," he said.

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