In a recent media statement, former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has revealed that Mohammad Amir kept him “in the loop” concerning his decision to retire from Test match cricket. Notably, Amir’s decision to call it quits from the longest format of the game led was severely criticised from the cricket experts and fans alike.
Amir had decided not to participate in Test match cricket in July 2019. There were also speculations that the left-arm pacer may be ignored for the T20 World Cup squad scheduled to be held in Australia later this year.
“Amir spoke to me about it and he kept me in the loop on his decision. We discussed it many times. But maybe I was too hard on him playing him in every Test I could. I could see he was losing his hunger for Test cricket and his body was not able to handle the pressure of three formats,” Arthur said as quoted by PTI.
”Amir is a top-class bowler and a match-winner. I love to watch him bowl. But by deciding to leave Test cricket I think he has given himself a chance of extending his white-ball career,” he added.
The 51-year-old cautioned that leaving a match-winner like Amir out of the T20 World Cup squad could prove to be detrimental for the team and may even cost them the coveted trophy.
“I wouldn’t imagine Pakistan going to the World T20 without Amir. He is a match-winner. If you leave him out of the fray you potentially are sacrificing chances of winning the tournament,” Arthur said in an interview on a YouTube cricket channel.
Arthur had other ideas when asked if the duo of Amir and Wahab Riaz had let the Pakistan national team down by abruptly retiring from the traditional form of the game.