“He is trying to blackmail others with his statements so that he can make a return to the side”

Danish Kaneria tore into Mohammad Amir, slamming the pacer for his recent comments. The leg-spinner claimed Mohammad Amir was trying to blackmail the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to negotiate a return to the side.

Mohammad Amir’s recent interview once again grabbed headlines, with the pacer making a series of accusations. The 29-year-old said PCB's disrespect prompted his early retirement. Mohammad Amir’s comments on his future plans also attracted attention from many quarters.

Danish Kaneria recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel where he slammed Mohammed Amir for his recent comments.

“I am taking nothing away from Mohammad Amir. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I feel he is trying to blackmail others with his statements so that he can make a return to the side. From his comments on moving to England and getting citizenship and playing the IPL, you can understand his headspace,” Kaneria said.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Mohammad Amir claimed that he will spend the majority of his time in England. The fast bowler was coy on a possible IPL stint, claiming he will decide his future course of action once he gets British citizenship.

Mohammad Amir "I was suffering from mental pressure & would be very surprised if I was the only one who has gone through this. Some players are too frightened to do anything or speak up about it because there are a lot of things which are outside the control of players" #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) May 11, 2021

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Despite not playing for Pakistan since 2019, Mohammad Amir has consistently featured for franchises all over the world. Speaking of the fast bowler's performances, Danish Kaneria feels Mohamed Amir’s form has been on a decline for the past couple of years

“Mohammad Amir should realize that Pakistan were really kind to bring him back after his spot-fixing scandal. But his performance over the last 1.5 years has been absolutely zero. Agreed he bowled really well in the ICC Champions Trophy, but since then he has been on a steep decline," Kaneria pointed out.

Kaneria claims many didn’t want Mohammad Amir’s return

Mohammad Amir was inducted into the national setup after his spot-fixing ban came to an end. He was part of several matches for Pakistan, but Danish Kaneria revealed that many members of the cricketing fraternity did not want his return to the Pakistan side.

“When you (Amir) were excluded from the team after a decline, you then proceeded to claim that I will not play with this management. Despite them being the ones who backed Mohammad Amir. When I talk about people like Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, the board pressured them to support Mohammad Amir and bring him back to the team. Even some commentators did not want to support Amir, but they had to because the commentary was their bread and butter,” Kaneria revealed.

Mohammad Amir will continue his stint in franchise cricket over the next few months. The fast bowler will play in the rescheduled PSL 2021, before joining up with Kent in this year's Vitality Blast. He will also be a part of the London Spirit in the inaugural edition of The Hundred later this year.

Mohammad Amir "no matter what I did, the critics were never happy. If I had figures of 1 for 40 from 10 overs, they'd say that I didn’t take enough wickets. If I took 3 for 60 from 10 overs, they would say that I conceded too many runs. It was a no-win situation for me" #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) May 11, 2021