After a five-year ban and another four-year international break, Mohammed Amir is fed up with former Pakistan stars repeatedly raising his involvement in the infamous spot-fixing scandal that rocked the cricket world in 2010. to atone for that big mistake and if you look at my career I was exiled from 2010 to 2015 and I retired from 2020 to 2024 so I lost nine years but I accept it all as God's will and I have moved on gone,” Amir told the media. .
Amir, who was just 19 in 2010, had deliberately taken a step too far at the behest of former skipper Salman Butt, along with fellow pacer Mohammed Asif, and they were all caught in a 'News of the World' expose. All three were briefly jailed in Britain, where repairing is a crime, but were later released.
The ICC banned them for five years between 2010 and 2015. Only Amir made a successful return to international cricket and was the hero of Pakistan's Champions Trophy win over India in Britain in 2017.
However, in 2020, he retired from all forms of international cricket after his differences with former PCB chief Ramiz Raja came to light.
Ramiz and several other Pakistani players have spoken out against the Pakistani cricket establishment, giving him a second chance after his direct involvement in corruption.
He was also widely criticized for retiring and gaining direct entry into the Pakistan team without playing domestic cricket.
“There has been a lot of criticism from some people about me and Imad being selected without playing domestic cricket,” he added.
Amir refuted the critics by clarifying that PSL is a domestic tournament where he and another comeback man, Imad Wasim, have played regularly.
“I ask them what is Pakistan's premier domestic T20 event? The PSL. And we (Imad) have both played and performed in the PSL, besides appearing regularly in other leagues. So what's wrong with selecting us for the T20 format? Amir said if the selectors had picked them for Tests or ODIs, it would have been very wrong.
“I myself have always said that players need to gain experience in the domestic first division and other events to be considered for the national team. But in our case, we only play T20 cricket and our form and fitness is there for all to see.” He also confirmed that former Test captain Muhammad Hafeez had called him last year and asked if he would consider retiring.
“It was nice of him (he was director of the Pakistan team) and he said I could still play for Pakistan, but I told him that given the uncertainty in the cricket board and the team, I would rather stay out of international cricket to stay.”
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