Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan doesn’t believe tainted left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir will get any hostile reception during the upcoming series in England.
“I don’t think he will get a hostile press or reception because from what I have seen having been to England there is lot of sympathy for him because when the spot-fixing scandal took place he was just 18 or 19 and he later on also quickly admitted his guilt and apologised to everyone,” Imran made his point quite clear in a talk show on Ary Channel.
“There is a general wave of sympathy for Amir and my experience says he will get positive press and response in England and this should help him perform well in the coming series,” Imran said.
The cricketer-turned-politician suggested those who were involved in the 2010 scandal, had already admitted their guilt and trying to move on. That’s why the so-called concerns over Amir and the Pakistan team could face problems in England are unfounded.
Amir and his new-ball partner Mohammad Asif intentionally bowled no-balls on the instructions of their captain Salman Butt during the infamous Lords Test. All three received five-year bans and jail terms.
Since his ban ended, Amir had the opportunity to play only limited-overs cricket, but now he has a Test return at Lords in hand, a twist of fate that he regards a “blessing”.
On Sunday, Mohammad Amir himself claimed he is ready to face any kind of on-field sledging and the inevitable chants by England crowd. During a Twenty20 international match in New Zealand back in January, the stadium announcer intentionally played the sound of a cash register before one of Amir’s overs.
“Crowds, in general, get nasty sometimes but you are professional only if you handle any kind of situation wisely. It’s my duty to be focused on the game,” he said.
“Sledging is a part of the game and it indeed isn’t new. But I don’t want to think a lot about this. I will think about my performance,” Amir further said.
Amir has only issued a visa for the series as the Pakistan Cricket Board sought the assistance of the England and Wales Cricket Board and the British High Commission and had to file a separate case for his visa.
Imran, who captained Pakistan to their only World Cup trophy in 1992, also ruled out the concept of having three different captains for the three formats of cricket in Pakistan.
“Pakistan cricket was damaged because a person who did election fixing was rewarded with a position in the Pakistan cricket board,” he said simply referring to the presence of the former caretaker chief minister of Punjab, Najam Sethi in the board.
“One of the negatives of his decision making is that now we have three captains for the three formats and I look at it as a joke because how can you have continuity in your team like this,” Imran further said.
The former captain made it clear he still believes in one captain for all formats.
“If I had been there I would have had Misbah-ul-Haq as captain in the recent World T20,” he added.
When asked if he was pointing out that he would not have had Shahid Afridi as the national T20 captain, Imran in reply said for the sake of continuity, team building and planning there should be one captain.