Mickey Arthur: “Amir is just what we needed for our setup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan team director, has admitted that left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir is exactly “what we needed for our setup.”
It seems to indicate that Arthur would have picked the 31-year-old should he have been available for selection.
However, Amir can’t play for Pakistan right now as he announced his retirement from international cricket back in December 2020.
The Gujjar Khan native has hinted at the possibility of returning to play for his country again, but hasn’t taken any action so far.
Having worked with Amir during his time as Pakistan’s head coach, Arthur knows how useful the fast bowler can be and how well he can complement the current pace attack.
“Amir is just what we needed for our setup,” he said on Amir’s YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Amir was last in action in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he took 16 wickets in 10 matches for the Jamaica Tallawahs at an average of 13.75 and an economy rate of 6.87.
The Pakistan team, meanwhile, beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before crushing Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
They then took part in the Asia Cup, where they came up short in their bid to qualify for the final.
Currently, Pakistan are playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India and kickstarted their campaign with a comfortable 81-run win over the Netherlands.
Their next match will be on October 10 when they face Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali