Can't Imagine Pakistan Going Into The T20 World Cup Without Mohammad Amir: Mickey Arthur

Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has said that it will be impossible for him to imagine a Pakistan team in the T20 World Cup without Mohamad Amir. The ICC T20 World Cup 2020 is scheduled to take place in October-November later this year in Australia.

Mohammad Amir shocked the cricketing world when he announced his retirement from Test cricket to focus on white-ball cricket. Amir has had a dark career as he was suspended for the majority of his international career due to spot-fixing charges. He made his return to international cricket a few years ago, and despite being a young talent, Amir decided to call it time on his Test career.

It led to speculations that the pacer may be ignored when the squad is picked for the World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia later this year. However, Mickey Arthur wants Amir’s place in the squad as he believes Amir will be a key asset for Pakistan to win the World Cup.

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Mickey Arthur Backs Mohammad Amir For T20 World Cup

“I wouldn’t imagine Pakistan going to the World T20 without Amir. He is a match-winner. If you leave him out of the fray you potentially are sacrificing chances of winning the tournament,” Arthur said in an interview on a YouTube cricket channel.

He also didn’t agree that Amir and Wahab Riaz had let down the team by retiring from red-ball cricket in haste.

“Amir spoke to me about it and he kept me in the loop on his decision. We discussed it many times. But maybe I was too hard on him playing him in every Test I could. I could see he was losing his hunger for test cricket and his body was not able to handle the pressure of three formats,” Arthur said.

“Amir is a top-class bowler and a match-winner. I love to watch him bowl. But by deciding to leave Test cricket I think he has given himself a chance of extending his white-ball career,” the former Pakistan coach added.

Coronavirus Threat Looms Large Over The ICC T20 World Cup

The cricketing world has also suffered a great deal due to the pandemic. Major cricketing events have either been postponed or suspended in the wake of the pandemic. Australia was supposed to host the ICC T20 World Cup later this year, but due to the outbreak, there are speculations that the tournament might be held behind closed doors.

Recently, the IPL 2020 was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak. To the disappointment of the cricket fans, the India-South Africa ODI series was also called off. Apart from it, the Road Safety World Series has also been suspended.

All the English players playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were called back immediately, and the tournament was postponed.

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