Here’s my understanding of events:
1. Amir’s form dipped so much that Musa Khan and Faheem Ashraf were performing better than him in the National T20 Cup. Through no fault of his own, though, as it was clear Amir’s body was giving up on him.
2. Seeing this horrible form, Misbah did not select Amir for New Zealand. Fair play. Misbah makes the mistake of not calling Amir directly to inform him about this decision - better communication from the PCB would have been good.
3. Instead of taking it positively and working hard, Amir fails to consult a professional physiotherapist or bowling coach. He then goes off to play in leagues around the world where he has very middling performances - some good, some bad. But even in the good performances, Amir continues to be noticeably down on pace and is not generating the swing he used to.
4. Amir goes into denial mode about the physical problems present, and begins retweeting masala posts by various journalists, attacks on Misbah and the current management, and even tweets either by Mickey Arthur or about him. This is unprofessional conduct.
5. Waqar makes a careless statement during a Zoom press conference - Shoaib Jatt asks him about workload, and Waqar genuinely has no idea what he’s talking about. “I didn’t realize workload was an issue, isn’t he playing in a couple leagues right now?” So two people at fault here - the most obvious is Waqar, for making a statement that can very easily be spun and interpreted in a variety of different ways. The person who people are not looking at here is Amir - if you read between the lines, he has very clearly failed to communicate his workload issues with Waqar and Misbah. It is clear that if Amir was serious about regaining form, he would consult his bowling coach of all people rather than go off on his own. And he’s not even consulting his own coach or physio - he’s just continuing to steam in in Sri Lanka!
6. Amir makes a statement about still waiting for a call from Misbah explaining why he was dropped, and that he’s been waiting several months. Sure, the PCB should definitely communicate with all players around the national team about selections and droppings, but why does Amir in turn expect special treatment when no other player gets this kind of communication? Is it that much of an ego issue for Amir to make that call to Misbah himself?
7. Amir retires from international cricket as a whole, rather than continue to fight his case! And he knows very well that a new selector is incoming. What does that say about him? I don’t want to insinuate he’s not serious about returning to cricket, because just observing his interviews and body language, I do genuinely believe he wants to play for his country. But it seems he’s dug himself so deep into this vendetta against the current management, that he has no choice but to continue with it.
The truth is, there is clearly a horrible mismatch in communication between the PCB and Amir. That should no doubt be rectified. But Amir should by no means feel entitled to selection even if he is performing domestically, as folks like Tabish Khan, Nauman Ali, Kashif Bhatti, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, and more can testify. If his form dips, it is primarily Amir’s responsibility, and only secondarily the management’s, to recover fitness.
Amir could still have made it to the World T20 if he kept his mouth shut, consulted someone like Ian Pont, and dominated in PSL 6. He has himself chosen otherwise, and no one else can bear the blame.
