Amir has a chance of making his international comeback against New Zealand

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Amir has taken one step closer to making his international return after he was included in a 26-man squad for a conditioning camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming tour of New Zealand.

The camp, which runs from December 21 to January 6, will also help identify players’ fitness and performance levels for the World Twenty20 in India in March.

Amir, who recently completed serving a five-year ban for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during a Test match against England in 2010, recently represented the Chittagong Vikings in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and finished with 14 wickets in nine matches at a brilliant average of 12.64.

However, some Pakistan players, like Mohammad Hafeez, have already made it clear that they do not want to play alongside Amir, which could make his integration back into the national team extremely complicated.

Meanwhile, veteran pace bowler Umar Gul has been included in the squad after fully recovering from a knee injury.

Pakistan will tour New Zealand for a limited overs series prior to the World Twenty20.

26-man Squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Azher Ali, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umer Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Bilal Asif, Sohaib Maqsood, Amir Yamin, Wahab Riaz, Anwer Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Umer Gul, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan, Ruman Raees, Immad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Amir