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UAE BullsBowler
Mohammad Amir
- Age
- 34y 213d
- Bats
- Left-hand
- Bowls
- Left-arm fast
- From
- Gujjar Khan
- Age
- 34y 213d
- Bats
- Left-hand
- Bowls
- Left-arm fast
- From
- Gujjar Khan
Amir first drew attention in 2007, when Akram marked him out as a talent and judged him a cleverer bowler than Akram himself had been at 18. Playing for Pakistan Under-19s, he took eight wickets at an average of 16.37 on a tour of England. He followed that with nine wickets at 11.2 in a three-team event in Sri Lanka that also featured the England and Sri Lanka Under-19 sides. In 2009, his first full domestic season, he collected 55 wickets for National Bank of Pakistan. That return earned him a place in the squad for the 2009 T20 World Cup in England, where his pace and accuracy were central to Pakistan winning the title.
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He also proved useful with the bat in one-day cricket. Against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi he set what was then the highest ODI score by a number 10 batsman, adding 103 for the final wicket with Saeed Ajmal. Pakistan still lost that match by seven runs.
His Test career opened slowly, with just six wickets across three matches against Sri Lanka. He improved sharply on tours of Australia and England. At the MCG he claimed his first five-wicket haul. His 5/52 at the Oval in 2010 helped Pakistan to their first Test win in England in nine years. In the fourth Test, at Lord's, his 6/84 put his name on the honours board.
That Lord's Test also marked the start of his downfall. A News of the World investigation reported that Amir and team-mate Mohammad Asif had deliberately bowled no-balls in the match in exchange for money from a betting syndicate. Under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code he received a five-year ban in February 2011, which he chose to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. In November 2011, Southwark Crown Court convicted him of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. He was sentenced to six months, served first at a Young Offenders Institution in Feltham and then at one in Dorset, and was freed in early 2012.
Amir returned to international cricket in January 2016 for the tour of New Zealand. Since then he has faced repeated comparisons with his younger self and suggestions that he has lost some pace. His display in the 2016 Asia Cup match against India, however, showed he could still be a serious threat. His skills include the inswinger, the away-swinger and the yorker.
