Mohammad Amir to miss the T20 series against World XI 

What's the story?

Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir is likely to miss his side's forthcoming T20 series against the World XI. He is currently in England with his wife as they are expecting the birth of their child. According to the reports, the due date of his child clashes with the schedule of the series.

The World XI will visit Pakistan for a three-match T20 series. The two teams will meet for the first match on September 12. The second and the third match will be held on 13th and 15th, respectively, at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.

Two weeks after the announcement of the Pakistan squad that will face the World XI, Amir didn't return to the country. This could mean that he will miss half the series and might return only for the last match.

In case you didn't know...

Pakistan announced a sixteen-men squad to face the World XI that included Amir's name. He was earlier banned from playing all forms of cricket due to charges of spot-fixing. Since his return, however, his form has been indifferent.

This year, though, Amir picked up the pace yet again and his 6/44 helped Pakistan in registering a historic Test series win over West Indies. Moreover, he took crucial wickets in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy that turned the game in Pakistan's favour.

The details

Multiple requests from Pakistan and an assured sense of security finally urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to send a World XI team led by the South African skipper, Faf du Plessis to the country.

Although the Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan team have still not confirmed whether Amir will be playing the series, the team are gearing up for a tough fight as this series will determine the future of International cricket in Pakistan.

Pakistan is hosting an International team after almost eight years. Due to the ever increasing security threats, the other International teams had refused to play in the country.

Back in March 2009, Sri Lanka visited Pakistan for a prolonged series. On the third day of the second Test against, the Sri Lankan team were attacked by militants on their way back to the Gadaffi Stadium. Since then, all International sides have refused to play in Pakistan. Post that incident, all of Pakistan's home fixtures were held in UAE.

What's next?

It seems almost certain that Amir will miss the series that is up ahead. This means that the likes of Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf and Hasan Ali will be given a chance to prove their worth.

Author's take

Bound by family commitments, Amir might choose to miss the entire series, thereby forcing him miss to his chance to return to T20Is.

However, if Pakistan manage to conduct the entire series without any problems, it will open doors for other countries to come to the nation for bilateral and tri-series. That, in turn, will increase Amir's chances of playing International T20s.