What’s the story?
Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir may have failed to live up to the high expectations since making his return to international cricket over a year ago after the spot-fixing scandal which landed him a five-year ban, but his devastating spell in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy against India is something that has brought huge relief to his family back home.
Reacting to Amir’s performance on Sunday which helped Pakistan defeat their arch-rivals by a huge margin of 180 runs, his brothers Naveed and Ejaz spoke of the shame they were subjected to when the news broke of Amir’s involvement in the spot-fixing scandal back in 2010 but are hopeful that Sunday’s events herald a change in attitude towards them.
"Our family village is Changa Bungial near Rawalpindi and after the spot-fixing scandal happened, we were so ashamed and felt bad about facing people," Naveed told PTI by telephone from Lahore. "Our family has now settled in Defence Lahore but our roots remain in our village and now when we go there we can proudly look up to our people again."
"Amir, since completing his punishment, wanted to do something exceptional for Pakistan to make up for his wrongdoing and I think he managed that on Sunday," he added.
The background
Amir ripped through the top order of the Indian batting line-up consisting of the in-form trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli – who had contributed more than 80% of India’s runs in their run to the final. It was a perfect retribution of sorts for the left-arm pacer who had not-so-fond memories of being in England back in 2010.
Along with then skipper Salman Butt and fellow pacer Mohammad Asif, Amir deliberately bowled no-balls during the Lord’s Test of Pakistan’s tour of England and was eventually found guilty of wrongdoing which robbed him of what was an excellent start to a promising international career.
The details
Amir, since his return to international cricket with Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand in 2016, has rarely managed to set the world on fire like he used to when he burst onto the scene initially, but has nonetheless managed to save his best for arch-rivals India.
During the Asia Cup encounter against India in February 2016, Amir ripped through the top order sending back the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Suresh Raina, giving Pakistan a glimmer of hope after they disappointed with the bat.
He impressed in the World T20 encounter between the two sides as well, and was one of the few Pakistan bowlers who managed to survive the onslaught during India’s 124-run victory against Sarfraz Ahmed’s side during their 2017 Champions Trophy opener.
Team success was missing though on each of the above three occasions but Sunday brought an end to the wait as Pakistan’s superb batting display helped heap immense pressure on India in the run-chase and Amir made the most of it.
According to Naveed, their family has already started receiving calls from their native village and is revelling in what is a proud moment indeed after years of hiding in shame.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final: 5 memorable moments from the India vs Pakistan match that don’t fade away
What’s next?
Pakistan’s unexpected success at the 2017 Champions Trophy, after heading into the tournament as the lowest ranked of the eight teams participating in the three-week long event, has generated quite a buzz back home.
They have already jumped two places to No. 6 in the latest ICC ODI rankings and they will be hoping to build on the momentum gained from this victory as they aim to develop a youthful squad for the 2019 World Cup.
Extra Cover: 2017 Champions Trophy XI
Author’s take
The spot-fixing scandal will forever remain a major blip in Amir’s career no matter what he goes on to achieve, but moments like these will surely help to lighten the shame that has been inflicted due to those events.
Amir is a hugely talented bowler, as India have found out on numerous occasions, and it is always a treat to watch him at his best. He showed that he has big-match pedigree on Sunday and Pakistan will be hoping that such displays come more often than they have in the past.
