Amir will return to England six years after a spot-fixing scandal in a Lord’s test that resulted in bans and jail sentences for the then teenage bowler and his former team mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. Amir’s coach at Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League (PSL) Arthur said in his first news conference since succeeding Waqar Younis in the post, “He served his time, he’s done it. I had Amir in the PSL, he was a fantastic professional. Other stuff is not relevant to me. The stuff that’s relevant to me is making Mohammad Amir the best he can possibly be as a cricketer”.
Amir’s return after serving a five-year ban was initially resented by some of his team mates but the 24-year-old left-arm pacer has had the support of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “People can say what they like, it’s got nothing to do with me,” Arthur said. “If Mohammad Amir is picked in the Pakistan cricket team, which he has been for the England tour, it’s my role as head coach to make him the best possible player that he can possibly be,” he added.
Pakistan will play four tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International in England between July 14 and Sept.7. Arthur had a largely successful five-year stint as South Africa coach that ended in 2010 but endured an eventful two years with the Australian team until his sacking in 2013.His new role puts him in charge of an often fractious group of skilled individuals but he is ready for the challenge. “For me, I wanted to coach in the subcontinent at some stage in my coaching career because if you haven’t coached in the subcontinent, you haven’t really coached,” the 48-year-old said. He said that Pakistan currently ranks third in the test rankings and it needs to do better in limited overs cricket. He also stressed the need to invest in players with long-term prospects.(Reuters)
