Amir is likely to make his international comeback later this month
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir is set to make his international comeback after he was included in the ODI and Twenty20 squads for the national team’s upcoming tour of New Zealand.
Amir has not played international cricket ever since he was found guilty of spot-fixing during a Test match against England at Lord’s in 2010.
However, Amir will have to wait to see if he is granted a visa to travel to New Zealand as he served time in a young offenders institute for his role in the spot-fixing scandal. But, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are confident that the 23-year-old will be given his visa.
Azhar Ali will lead the ODI team despite trying to resign as captain as he did not want to play alongside Amir. Veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez, who also did not want to play with Amir, has been included in both squads.
However, there was no place for Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir and Junaid Khan in the Twenty20 squad, while leg-spinner Yasir Shah was not considered for selection as he has been provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after he tested positive for a banned substance.
“Policy-making is the PCB’s prerogative and after his [Amir] clearance he was selected,” PCB chief selector Haroon Rasheed said. “We didn’t have to axe any players [such as Irfan, Tanvir or Junaid] to force him in, but he imposed himself with his performance. In case Amir fails to get visa, we will name a replacement later.
“Irfan is in our plan and he is a proven talent but we wanted to try a different combination and hence dropped him. We wanted to try Umar Gul instead – we saw his domestic performance and understood that he is ready again, and now we want to see how good he can be at the top level.”
Pakistan only have two specialist openers – Ahmed Shehzad and Hafeez – in their side, but Rasheed made it clear that Sohaib Maqsood and Sarfraz Ahmed can open the batting should they be required to.
“Both Sohaib and Sarfraz are marked as an option for the opening slot and it’s up to the team management to take a call if they want to use them in the top order,” he said.
Rasheed added that Pakistan’s biggest problem during the series will be their fielding.
“Both the squads are balanced but at the same time we will have to compete with a tougher opponent,” he said. “New Zealand have excelled in every department of the game. Pakistan have to fight hard to give them a tough time.
“But we do have a good bowling armoury. The only reason I see we can lose is due to the fielding, which is a weak link. If we manage to pull ourselves up in the field, then I do not see any reason Pakistan will lose.”
Pakistan ODI squad: Azhar Ali (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir
Pakistan T20 squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Aamer Yamin, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Rizwan, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Amir