People should respect Mohammad Amir's retirement decision: Mohammad Wasim

Mohammad Wasim, chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), feels people should respect Mohammad Amir’s decision to retire from international cricket.

Speaking in an interview with PakPassion, Mohammad Wasim said that the decision to retire is something that is not taken by a player easily, and it should be respected. He said in this regard:

“My stance on this issue is very simple. Retirement is not an easy decision for a player — it’s not a trivial thing. Whoever makes this decision and whenever they make it, it takes a lot of effort, a lot of thought and a lot of people are involved in making the decision, including a player’s family and close friends. When someone makes such a big decision, then everyone should respect that decision and not wonder about whether that player should take back his decision or not."

On being asked whether Mohammad Amir would be considered for selection in the national team if he comes back from retirement, Mohammad Wasim said it is tough to answer that question for a player who is not available for national duty.

"It’s very difficult to comment about a player who is not available for the national team. He is not available for selection at the moment; if he was available then I could have answered your question. As he is not available, I think it would be unfair on the players who are available if I made a comment about Mohammad Amir,” said Mohammad Wasim.

Mohammad Amir bemoans lack of support from team management:

Recently, Mohammad Amir publicly lamented about the lack of support he has received from the Pakistan team's think-tank. He cited the example of Jasprit Bumrah and how the Indian team management has backed their star bowler.

"I think it is not the right mindset to look at the performance of only four or five matches. If you remember, (Jasprit) Bumrah had only one wicket in 16 matches when he was playing Australia series, but nobody questioned him because they knew he is a match-winning bowler. That was the time they (Indian team management) should have supported him, and they did that," Mohammad Amir said.

Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from international cricket in December last year, claiming he was 'mentally tortured' by the coaching staff, which included Waqar Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq.