Ace fast bowler Mohammad Amir made his return to the national side after five years on Thursday as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the team for the upcoming tour for New Zealand.
Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed announced that Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Emad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Umar Yamin, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Rizwan, Saad Nasim, and Mohammad Amir will be part of the Twenty20 team.
The one-day international (ODI) squad will comprise of Ahmed Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Emad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, and Mohammad Amir.
Amir, who was banned for five years from International cricket after a sentence in a spot-fixing case, has been included in both the ODI and T20 squads.
Rasheed said that Amir’s case has been forwarded to the New Zealand consulate and that his visa process will begin after the New Year’s holidays.
Amir, 23, resumed his career in March playing grade two cricket in Pakistan, after the ICC allowed an early return to cricket. He moved onto grade one and caught further attention in the Bangladesh Premier League where he picked up 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 12.64.
