Shaheen Afridi opens the door for Mohammad Amir's sensational return to Pakistan Cricket Team
Published - 05 Feb 2024, 11:34 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 08:07 AM
Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Afridi has opened the doors for Mohammad Amir’s sensational return to the Pakistan team. The left-arm pacer has not played for Pakistan since 2020.
In December 2020, Mohammad Amir shocked the cricketing world by bringing down the curtains on his international career at the age of 28. He decided relation between him and the then-team management turned extremely sour. Just before the announcement, Mohammad Amir had also told a TV channel that he was mentally tortured by the team management.
“I am leaving cricket for now because I’m being mentally tortured. I don’t think I can bear such torture. I’ve borne lots of torture from 2010 to 2015, for which I served my time. I’ve been tortured by being told the PCB invested a lot in me. I’ll just say two people invested in me a lot: [former PCB chairman] Najam Sethi and [former Pakistan captain] Shahid Afridi,” he had said.
He had also taken digs at the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis who were serving as coaches at that time. Since retiring from international cricket, Mohammad Amir has been busy plying his trade in T20 leagues across the world. He has also played in county cricket.
Doors open for Mohammad Amir:
Time and again, Mohammad Amir has said that he would be open to making a comeback to the Pakistan team when the time is right, and current T20I captain Shaheen Afridi has made it clear that he would have no problem having his former teammate in the squad.
In an X Space with Saya Corporation, the Pakistan pace spearhead said that he would talk with Amir to find out about his availability. He also stated that he liked bowling with Amir.
“I will talk to Mohammad Amir if he’s available to come back for Pakistan once again. Amir and I bowled together after almost 5 years. It was a very good experience to bowl with him, our partnership was great,” said Shaheen Afridi.
"I will talk to Mohammad Amir if he's available to come back for Pakistan once again. Amir and I bowled together after almost 5 years. It was a very good experience to bowl with him, our partnership was great" – Shaheen Afridi ❤️ #AskShaheen
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) February 4, 2024
Amir has picked up 119 wickets in 36 Tests, 81 wickets in 61 ODIs, and 59 wickets in 50 T20Is for Pakistan so far. With the T20 World Cup to take place this year, Pakistan would not mind having a bowler of Amir’s caliber in their squad.