Imran Nazir: “Pakistan has invested a lot in Amir. Amir needs to be patient and prove himself on the ground. Hasan Ali also went back into domestic [cricket], performed and made a comeback. You can’t just get disheartened and leave cricket”
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Former Pakistan batsman Imran Nazir has urged left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir to follow Hasan Ali’s example in order to make his comeback.
Amir retired from international cricket in December, but said that he would be open to playing for his country again once the current team management is gone.
He alleged that he was being “mentally tortured” by the PCB and felt that the current team management had deliberately been snubbing him for selection.
However, Nazir noted that “Pakistan has invested a lot in Amir”.
He told the 28-year-old that if he keeps putting up strong performances in domestic cricket, like Hasan did, he will be rewarded.
“Pakistan has invested a lot in Amir. Amir needs to be patient and prove himself on the ground. Hasan Ali also went back into domestic [cricket], performed and made a comeback. You can’t just get disheartened and leave cricket,” Nazir told Cricket Pakistan.
Hasan made his comeback from recurring back injuries in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he captained Central Punjab.
He finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 43 wickets in nine matches at an average of 20.06.
With the number of wickets he claimed, Hasan had the most wickets among pace bowlers in this year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
He also got the job done with the bat in the final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as he smashed an unbeaten 106, which came off 61 balls and included 10 boundaries and seven sixes.
His efforts nearly helped Central Punjab defend their title, but instead, the match ended as a tie and the trophy was shared between the two teams.
As a result of his outstanding form, Hasan was recalled to the Pakistan team for the South Africa series, where he could play his first international match since the 2019 World Cup.
Pakistan’s series against South Africa, which will consist of two Tests and three T20 Internationals, will start on January 26 and conclude on February 14.
Pakistan’s squad for the South Africa series: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tabish Khan