Pacer had openly expressed his disappointment on social media after New Zealand tour snub
17 December, 2020
PHOTO: Reuters
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has taken an indefinite break from international cricket after reservations with the national team management.
Amir had openly expressed his disappointment on social media after New Zealand tour snub. He had also taken tacit digs at Head Coach Misbahul Haq and Bowling coach Waqar Younis, on Twitter, in the recent past.
“Right now I am leaving cricket. I am being mentally tortured. I don’t think, I will be able to handle this kind of torture because I have been tortured a lot from 2010 to 2015,” Amir said while speaking to a local news channel.
“My personal decision to leave Test cricket was taken in a wrong way. My retirement was attached to my desire of playing T20 leagues. I was wishing to invest everything in white-ball cricket for Pakistan. But every now and then some one or the other person came out with a statement. Our bowling coach came out and said, I ditched them, somebody says work load wasn’t properly handled,” he further added.
In July 2019, Amir had announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect, citing workload concerns, but had reaffirmed his commitment to playing white-ball cricket for Pakistan.
The Pakistan pacer featured in 36 Test matches, bagging 119 scalps, over the course of his career, after making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2009. He has also played 61 ODIs and 50 T20Is in his limited-overs career, taking 81 and 59 wickets respectively.
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He had also opened up about his retirement from Test cricket and the criticism he has faced over this decision, in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan towards the end of last month.
“People talk about my age and retirement but what they don’t realise that I didn’t play cricket for five years. Even if you don’t start your car for a week, even that needs oil change to get it running properly once again,” said Amir.
“My workload management was becoming a major issue which forced me to take that decision. I was continuously facing fitness issues and our physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon can confirm that I was number one in the treatment list, during England tour in 2018. If I had played all formats, I would have retired from international cricket by now,” he added.
The left-armer claimed 11 wickets in 10 matches during the recently concluded Lanka Premier League, where his side Galle Gladiators played the final.
