Instead of going on a lengthy rant just because you saw me contribute in this thread, you should have read my post carefully. If you would have done so, you would have realized that I have already answered several points that you have raised in your word salad. Unfortunately or fortunately, arguing with me gets your post noticed since everyone reads what I write or what others write in response to my post, so like many other posters, you have decided to use me to get prominence.
Thus, out of respect for your rambling, I will respond to you and dissect your post point by point.
There are some large leaps of logic and flimsy opinions here.
Firstly there's an assumption that there hasn't been desire and commitment from Amir prior to his test retirement? Are you a mind reader? Always get a laugh out of 'holier than though' saints like yourself who can accuse others of something without clear proof.
The proof lies in the pudding. Amir retired from Test cricket in July 2019 at the age of 27 and 3 years into his return to international cricket. In fact, the news of his potential retirement first broke out in 2018 but his fan-boys called it fake news.
So what does pondering retirement from Test cricket at the age of 26-27 looks like to you? I don’t have to explain, do I? It very clearly illustrates his complete lack of commitment towards Test cricket. You do not have to be a mind-reader to understand that no cricketer who is committed to Test cricket and wants to be remembered as a Test cricket legend would retire from the format at the age of 26-27, that too when he has only played 30 odd Test matches.
You also display some selective amnesia in not remembering the circumstances of his return. The Pakistan team's fast bowling stocks in 2015 were laughably thin. Our best bowler was an inconsistent 30 year old Wahab Riaz, who bowled *that* spell against Watson, and that's it. We also had Rahat Ali, Irfan, Sami and an oft injured Junaid Khan amongst the bowling stocks I.e. it was depressing. So when Amir returns after 5 years off, with barely a handful of first class games played, the PCB select him immediately. Because in their minds he was still the young kid who wowed on the Australia and England tours in '09 and '10 rather than the 20 something who was re-adjusting to playing at *the highest level of the game*, with all the pressures that come with it. And despite his inadequacies since his comeback, he was still a better bowler than the other fast bowlers that Pak had at the time. Disagree? Think back to the 2015 WC and come back to me on how the Pak fast bowling standards were then.
If you would have read my post, you would have noticed the following part:
“
Amir was lucky to get a second chance because other bowlers couldn’t nail down their place in the team and Pakistan was not doing well. Moreover, PCB could also have adopted a zero-tolerance policy for him like they did for Butt and Asif.
If life had taken a different turn, Amir would not have played for Pakistan after Lord’s 2010, and he has every reason to be grateful to PCB and the nation.”
I have already stated that he has fast-tracked because other bowlers couldn’t nail down their positions, so you simply wasted your time by providing a summary of our bowling between 2011 and 2015. So Amir needs to be grateful and should consider himself lucky because if others would have done well in his absence, the door on his career could have been closed forever, so life took a favorable turn for him.
So what you conveniently leave out, is that whilst Amir absolutely owed the fans, the PCB were also very very glad for his return in 2015. And they showed their gladness by bowling the lad into the ground by late 2019 by playing him in every format, including in 4 man attacks on UAE roads. Micky, Inzy and the PCB's mismanagement of Amir stands in stark contrast to the masterful way in which the ECB have managed Jimmy Anderson's career.
Amir is not the only bowler or cricketer who has been overplayed. It happens in most teams, and Pakistan’s situation was particularly unique because we did not have many alternatives. PCB could learn from ECB but more importantly, Amir could also learn from the masterful way Jimmy Anderson has managed his own career. No one forced Amir to waste 5 years. It was a choice that he made and he has to live with it.
If Anderson had done what Amir did, trust me, he would not have played for England again. So let’s not go down the “PCB needs to learn from ECB” route because it will not end well for Amir’s fan-boys.
And if Amir was over-bowled and needed time off to recoup, he could have retired from T20Is or he could have even taken a temporary hiatus from Test cricket. But no, he had zero commitment to Test cricket and had absolutely no problems with the fact that he is retiring as a completely nobody in Test cricket.
You state that he should have *lol* transformed his body from 2016 onwards to cope with the rigours of *overplaying* at the highest levels.
Let me tell you something about physiology mate. In terms of physical rigour, fast bowlers experience the most rigour in cricket. Why? Because, in a test match you are expected to bowl anywhere between 40-50 overs, which means working your joints, arm, back and leg muscles and cartilage 300 times a match. It helps if you develop these muscles at a younger age, such that every time you play again, the muscle memory compensates for some of the rigour.
He lost *5 years* when that muscle memory needed to develop. When he comes back, he needs to redevelop this muscle memory (best done in FC cricket). However, because the PCB need him, he has to redevelop his muscle memory whilst trying to lead and perform (And overplay) for his country at the *highest level* after 5 years of inactivity. To laughably state that it's on *him* that he redevelop his body is hilarious. How's he gonna do that when he's busy playing for Pakistan? To use an example, it's like asking a driver whose just got to license back after five years, to regain his driving reactions *whilst participating in an F1 race*.
Again, 5 years is more than sufficient time to build endurance. Have we seen Amir work hard in the gym over the last few years? Have we seen him put on some mass and muscle? No we haven’t - he has coasted over the last few years and has resigned himself to the notion that his body cannot cope with Test cricket because he did not play for 5 years.
Furthermore, from a physical perspective, Amir was actually quite lucky to miss laboring in the UAE heat between the tender age of 18-23, where fast bowlers are most vulnerable in terms of facing injuries. He returned to Test cricket at the age of 23 without the wear and tear of playing Test cricket in the UAE for 5 years.
Moreover, as I said earlier, if Amir was burned out by playing a lot of cricket between 2016 and 2019, he could have taken temporary retirement from Test cricket or could have offered PCB to play only in overseas (non-Asian Tests), but no - he decided to completely retire from Test cricket and watch Pakistan get massacred in Australia with novice bowlers.
And then he has to put up with the nonsense he has to keep taking from 'fans', including other posters here who were quick to adjudge your skewed reasoning as 'POTW'.
But he still keeps coming back, including leaving his wife and new born daughter so that he can play for his country against England.
Leaving his family to play for his country in England is the least Amir could do after what he did in 2010 and how he selfishly retired from Test cricket altogether last year. Please get something very clear - he is not doing PCB any favor by offering to play on this tour.
Is he a flawed person. Absolutely. This post isnt to lionise the lad but give a fair understanding of his situation. But what he does not deserve is the ** he gets from Pakistan fans.
Actually, Amir deserves a lot more ** than what he gets or what he has gotten from Pakistan fans. Amir is the most well-treated fixer in history of cricket. Had he played for any other board, he would have not have played a single match after Lord’s 2010. So again, Amir owes everything to PCB and the country and PCB and the fans owe him absolutely nothing.
Amir fan-boys live in a world of their own if they think that he has to put up with crap. He needs to very grateful because no fixer has been treated as well as he has been.
Thus try walking a mile in Amir's shoes before you start pointing figures. Judging others is very easy when looking at yourselves In the mirror may be more useful.
Once again, if you would have read my post, you would have noticed the following part of my post:
“I do not want to judge Amir - it is easy to act moral over the Internet, but when you are from a poor background and are offered a life changing amount for a few no-balls, it is quite difficult to resist the temptation.”
As I said, it is easy to act moral on the internet but it is more difficult when you are put through the test that Amir was in 2010. He was from a poor family and was offered a life-changing amount for a few no-balls. If I were in his position, maybe I would have done the same. However, when you make a decision like this, you need to understand that there could be grave consequences if you get caught.
It was a choice that you make, and Amir made his decision but it turned out to be a bad call because he got caught. It was a choice that ruined his career. It was a choice that he made and he has to live with it for the rest of his life. Retiring from Test cricket at the age of 27-28 instead of taking time off was also a choice that he made.
To sum it up, he lacks commitment towards Test cricket and has showed the bare minimum desire that anyone in his position would have after missing out on so much. As I stated previously, most other players in his position would have been absolutely desperate to prolong their Test careers but Amir is clearly not interested in becoming a Test great for Pakistan.
He will be criticized for this regardless of how much his fan-boys want to protect and justify him.
