Waqar Younis: “We criticized him and since the first day, I have said that his act was wrong. That act was wrong and it was costly for Pakistan. A major tour was coming up and he suddenly pulled out”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis has revealed that left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir really hurt the national team by retiring so suddenly from Test cricket.

Amir announced his retirement from Test cricket in July last year.

Despite voicing his frustration with Amir and fellow left-armer Wahab Riaz, Waqar pointed out that Amir is still a “match-winner”.

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“My love affair with Amir didn’t even start before he retired from Test cricket. It was roughly around the time that I took over that he refused to play Tests so we hadn’t even had that much interaction then,” Waqar was quoted as saying by PakPassion.

“Good form and bad form is part of cricket. You need to be down to earth and carry on. You need coaches and support staff. During that time, Amir played for Essex and that wasn’t good. We criticized him and since the first day, I have said that his act was wrong. That act was wrong and it was costly for Pakistan. A major tour was coming up and he suddenly pulled out.

“We shouldn’t forget Amir, he’s a match-winner and wicket-taker so let’s see how it goes in the next few months.”

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