Aaqib Javed: “PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed believes that left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir doesn’t deserve to be part of the national team for the upcoming series against England.
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 told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he is available for the series against England.
After passing two coronavirus (COVID-19) tests, Amir flew to England over the weekend.
But, Javed believes that picking Amir was the wrong choice as the 28-year-old will only be available for the T20 series as he retired from Test cricket last year.
Instead, Javed would have preferred that Pakistan chose left-arm pace bowler Junaid Khan.
“PCB and the selection committee are fans of Mohammad Amir. He is always preferred for some reason. If you compare Junaid Khan’s performance with Amir, then Junaid is not behind but in fact better,” Javed was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“Injustice has been done with Junaid and he has been ignored for no reason. PCB brought Amir back after that incident [spot-fixing ban] and since then he has given only one noteworthy performance, which was in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Apart from that, Amir has always struggled since his comeback.
“I think he is already going for the Twenty20 International matches because he doesn’t play Tests. When you already have around 10 fast-bowlers in 29-member squad present in England, why do you need to call Amir? There is no clear policy regarding the future.”
The Pakistan team is currently in Derby, but will travel to Manchester on August 1 prior to the start of the Test series.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and three T20 Internationals against England, with the first Test starting on August 5 in Manchester and the T20 series beginning on August 28 at the same venue.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Mohammad Amir blames Mickey Arthur for his Test retirement?