Misbah-ul-Haq: “Keeping in view white-ball cricket, we thought it’s good to have an experienced bowler in the squad and he’s now available. After consulting with the captain, we thought we should bring Amir here to strengthen our squad”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has revealed that he wanted left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir to join the team in England due to his experience.
Amir was initially set to miss the tour completely due to the birth of his second child, but since his daughter was born early, he allegedly told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he is available for the series against England.
Amir won’t feature in the three-Test series, which begins on August 5 in Manchester, as he retired from the longest format last year.
However, he could feature in the three-match T20 series, which begins on August 28.
Nonetheless, Misbah is glad the 28-year-old is set to come to England as he believes Amir will “strengthen our squad”.
Amir will need to test negative for the coronavirus (COVID-19) twice before flying out to England. If his first test is negative, he will be moved to a bio-secure environment in Lahore, where the second test will be conducted.
Should he test negative twice, Amir is likely to travel to England on the weekend.
[socialpoll id=”2663734″]
“Keeping in view white-ball cricket, we thought it’s good to have an experienced bowler in the squad and he’s now available. After consulting with the captain, we thought we should bring Amir here to strengthen our squad,” Misbah was quoted as saying by PakPassion.
Misbah also confirmed that reserve wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir will return to Pakistan once Amir arrives.
“Rohail has been with us, we tried to keep him with us as long as possible to keep a 29-man squad and also so that he can gain experience,” he said. “Initially we brought him as a back-up wicketkeeper but we have (Mohammad) Rizwan and Sarfaraz (Ahmed) now. He has gained some experience. He will leave when Amir joins the squad.”
The Pakistan team are currently in Derby, but will travel to Manchester on August 1 prior to the start of the Test series.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Naseem Shah bouncer left which Pakistan batsman needing treatment and a new helmet?
[socialpoll id=”2663148″]