Shoaib Akhtar: “Where batsman David Warner hit me for three or four boundaries, even though it was at the end of my career, I knew what to bowl but couldn’t bowl the way Amir was reading the situation. On the same pitch, he [Amir] was making Warner dance in Birmingham”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar recalled the time when left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir troubled Australia opener David Warner immensely with his bowling.

Akhtar noted that Warner used to hit him for “three or four boundaries”, while Amir was “making Warner dance”.

Akhtar added that he was “super impressed” with Amir when he first burst onto the international scene and felt that he had an incredibly bright future ahead of him.

However, the 44-year-old admitted that it was “sad” that Amir’s talent was wasted as he was banned for five years for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that shocked the cricketing world.

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“Mohammad Amir an exceptional talent, very clever. He is a genuine fast bowler. I think he was a very intimidating bowler and a rising star. He had all of these qualities in the start,” Akhtar said in a YouTube video as quoted by Cricket Pakistan. “The sad part was that we saw all of that talent being wasted. But when I saw him I thought that I had seen such a clever fast bowler after a very long time.

“Where batsman David Warner hit me for three or four boundaries, even though it was at the end of my career, I knew what to bowl but couldn’t bowl the way Amir was reading the situation. On the same pitch, he [Amir] was making Warner dance in Birmingham. I was thinking that I have spent 13 to 14 years in international cricket and I can’t contain him, and Amir who just burst into international cricket about a year ago is playing like it’s nothing. I was super impressed with his abilities.”

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