Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir shocked the cricket world with his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Thursday. He had already hanged his Test boots in 2019.

“I have been mentally tortured,” Amir can be seen saying in a video which has gone viral on social media.

“I don’t think I can play cricket under this management, I am leaving cricket, for now, I am being mentally tortured, I cannot handle it, I have seen it enough from 2010-2015. I have to repeatedly hear that PCB invested a lot in me, however it is not the case. I am thankful to Shahid Afridi as he gave me chances when I came back after the ban and will also thank Najam Sethi (former PCB chairman),” said Amir.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also confirmed about Amir’s decision to step down, informed ICC in a tweet.

The 28-year-old left-arm pacer has said that he would release a detailed statement after reaching Pakistan in a few more days. Amir is currently in Sri Lanka to participate in the inaugural Lanka Premier League, representing Galle Gladiators.

“Everyone wants to play for their country, they (PCB) just keep saying that I left Test cricket for other leagues around the world. However, the fact is that I made the comeback through BPL, if I was dying for leagues then I could have said I don’t want to play for Pakistan. Every month there is someone who is saying Amir ditched us. In two days I will reach Pakistan and then I will release a statement,” he said.

Amir had grabbed the limelights in international cricket at a very young age with his pace and ability to move the ball both ways.

He was part of the Pakistan squad which won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and was also part of the squad that won the Champions Trophy in 2017.

However, his career faced a downward spiral when he was banned for five years over his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal during the tour of England in 2010.

After serving his five-year ban, he returned to international cricket in 2015 and made his Test return in 2016. Amir, in 2018, called time on his Test career to focus entirely on white-ball cricket.

The left-armer, who arrived at the scene in a T20I game against England in June 2009, played 36 Tests, 61 ODIs and 50 T20Is in which he scalped 259 wickets in total.