Mohammad Amir is set to return to the land where his cricket career came crashing down 6 years ago. The left armer’s meteoric rise was arrested when he, along with his captain Salman Butt and bowling partner Mohammad Asif, were convicted of spot fixing in the Test matches against England. The cricketing community was shocked when it came to light that the bowlers had underperformed under the instructions of their captain for cash and gifts.
The trial that ensued thereafter concluded by handing Amir a five-year ban, Asif a seven-year ban and Butt a ten-year ban from all forms of cricket. While Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif faded away from the cricketing scene, Amir did not.
The bowler made all the right moves after his blunder and most importantly, distanced himself from his two partners in crime and then apologized for his actions to the cricketing community. He didn’t give up on his dream of representing Pakistan again and made a dramatic comeback to competitive cricket last year, showing that at 24 he still hasn’t lost anything of what made him the sensation six years ago.
Here are 5 reasons why we will be delighted to see Amir back in action in England
1. Carrying forward Pakistan’s fast bowling legacy
Beginning with Fazal Mahmood, Pakistan has unearthed some of the best names that have ever bowled fast with the ball in cricket. Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus – there are several names who have carried the torch high for Pakistan fast bowling.
However, the past decade has raised concerns and doubts whether Pakistan still has the ability to produce world class fast bowlers; after the retirement of Shoaib Akhtar, they have tried a number of bowlers without much success. The Asif-Amir duo raised hopes of a Waqar-Wasim style pairing, but then the spot fixing saga not only separated the two but also forced them away from cricket.
That is why Amir’s comeback assumes importance. To say that Amir is an exceptional talent would be stating the obvious. However, what makes Amir stand out from the current crop of Pakistani bowlers is that he has time and again translated his talent into performance. Despite his tainted past, Amir is Pakistan’s hope to carry forward the legacy of the past greats.
2. A shot at redemption
They say that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. What the pacer did six years ago can never be justified on any grounds whatsoever, but the fact remains that he is back in the fold after serving his complete punishment. He was kept away from the game he loved for more than five years – years that could have been the most productive of his career.
Therefore, this series in England, the land where he picked 30 wickets in 6 Tests at an average of 19.60, will mean a lot to Amir. He can’t erase his misdeeds of the past, but what he can surely do is to do what he does best – make indelible memories with the ball. With the seaming conditions of English pitches to rely on, Amir has a shot at redeeming himself in England.
3. His past performances in England
Hailed as a bright prospect by Pakistani great Wasim Akram at the age of 16, Amir blossomed into a feared bowler as he brought strong English and Australian batting line-ups to their knees in the summer of 2010. Amir had 21 wickets in 8 Tests prior to his trip to England, but once Pakistan unleashed the bowler on those green pitches of England, he was a different beast altogether.
He matured quickly with his skills, and his bowling started breaching the 90mph mark more regularly with reverse swing becoming his favorite ally. One of the balls he bowled to Mitchell Johnson to dismiss the left-hander for a golden duck gave some serious competition to Warne’s Ball of the Century to Mike Gatting.
In no time, Amir had amassed 30 wickets in England, apart from a Man of the Match and Man of the Series award. That's why his return to English pitches will be much anticipated.
4. Amir is in terrific form
Amir has picked up 5 wickets in 2 ODIs since his reinstatement to cricket and 11 wickets in 11 matches in T20Is. He even shone in the Bangladesh Premier League with 14 wickets and a miserly economy rate of 5.56. His performance in his team’s failed Asia Cup campaign drew praises from Virat Kohli who, after one of his match-winning innings said, “I would like to congratulate Mohammad Amir for the way he bowled, I actually congratulated him while he was bowling.”
Kohli later added, “I was really happy to play such an amazing spell of fast bowling. May God bless him with more success. That tested me out completely. To come out of that, it gives me a lot of confidence as a batsman.”
Although Amir is still some distance away from the peaks he touched in England, he is in good shape and good form and can very well replicate his exploits of 2010.
5. Battle between Root and Amir
Joe Root made his Test debut two years after Amir played his last. Since then, Root has carried the English batting line up on his shoulders and has gone on to become one of the four top young batsmen alongside Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith in all the formats of the game. He averaged over 60 in Tests last year and averages more than 50 this year. And he has struck form in the shorter formats as well, scoring back to back half-centuries in the Natwest T20 Blast.
So it will be interesting to see one of the best batsman of the world and one of the best bowling prospects come up against each other. While Root revels in his home conditions, Amir too will relish the seaming pitches of England.
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