Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli welcomed the return of tainted Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Amir in international cricket and wished him all the best ahead of their Asia Cup contest in Dhaka.
India and Pakistan will renew cricket’s most bitter rivalry this week after a one-year gap when they face off in the Asia Cup, a contest for regional supremacy which is also a final rehearsal for the World T20.
The biennial 12-day tournament begins in Dhaka on Wednesday with India and Pakistan scheduled to meet on February 27 at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla stadium — the venue for all the matches.
Pakistan’s chances in the tournament will largely depend on Amir, who served three months in jail for spot-fixing in a Test match against England at Lord’s in 2010.
The 23-year-old left-armer made his comeback with the recent series against New Zealand, less than four months after he served his five-year ban.
‘I am quite happy seeing that he realised his fault and rectified it as well as went to New Zealand to represent his country,’ Kohli said in Dhaka Tuesday.
‘He had always been a world class cricketer and I have no doubt if he had played for the last five years he would have been among the top three bowlers in the world considering his talent.
‘He can swing both ways and have good bouncers and yorkers.
‘He is a very skillful bowler and I wish him all the best. He worked hard to come this far and it takes a lot of courage.’
Before the spot-fixing scandal, which also involved Amir’s then captain Salman Butt and fellow Pakistan bowler Mohammad Asif, Amir was regarded as the hottest property in international cricket.
With another World T20 ahead both Amir and Pakistani fans will feel excited as the he helped his country win the trophy back on 2009.
Amir, who picked up six wickets in that tournament by playing all seven matches, also played the subsequent tournament at West Indies and picked eight wickets in six matches before he faced a ban later on that year.
Ever since his return Amir, who is often compared with Wasim Akram, showed his glimpse in ODI format by picking five wickets in two matches against New Zealand.
The man from Punjab, who has 24 wickets from 21 Twenty20 international so far, has not tasted that much success in T20I as he could pick just one wicket in three matches against New Zealand by conceding 100 runs off 11
overs.
However, he has proved his worth in the format as he picked up 14 wickets from nine matches with an average of 12.64 in Bangladesh Premier League and grabbed seven wickets from same number of matches in just concluded Pakistan Super League.
-With New Age input
