Mohammad Amir is unlikely to feature against World XI in the three T20Is. (Source: Reuters File)
Mohammad Amir’s wait to play an international game in Pakistan is likely to continue with the seamer and his wife expecting a child in the coming week. They are in England before the birth of the baby with Amir likely to miss either all three or in part the T20Is against World XI in the Independence Cup. The matches are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Amir has been playing County Cricket since Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy in June and is yet to link up with his teammates in Pakistan prior to the historic series. The bowler has been included in the 16-man squad for the three matches.
Amir, one of the first names to be included in the Test and ODI lineups, is not a must-have in the shortest format of the game. Since his return to international cricket from a five year ban, he has been included in all Test matches while missing all four T20Is against West Indies.
After a luckless 2016, he has once again been in the wickets helping Pakistan to historic Test series win in the Caribbean, played a crucial role in ICC Champions Trophy final win and that form has transcended to England’s domestic cricket too.
If Amir does fail to play any of the three matches, it will extend his wait to play in front of home support to over eight years. He had made his debut at the World T20 in 2009. In 2010, he was banned for spot-fixing and missed Zimbabwe’s tour to the country in 2015. This has been the only international series in Pakistan since the Lahore attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus.
If the series goes off without any untoward incident, Amir may get a chance soon enough with Sri Lanka, West Indies on the horizon for T20I games.
