Mohammad Amir has been the subject of intense debate ever since he arrived with the Pakistan team in England. There have been some sections of the British press that have offered sympathy to the left-arm pace bowler, who is returning after a five-year ban from spot-fixing while others have criticised his presence in the team.
The latest to jump in the criticism bandwagon is former England off spinner Graeme Swann. Writing in a column for the tabloid ‘The Sun‘, Swann lamented that Amir had crushed the morality of the game and is being allowed to come back to Lord’s, the venue where he picked up 6/84 in the fourth Test in 2010 but later admitted to spot-fixing.
“Amir will walk out on the green and glorious turf at Lord’s on Thursday — and it will make me feel sick. He should have been banned for life for his part in the corruption scandal of 2010. No matter how good you are, if you sell your soul for 30 pieces of silver, you have to pay the consequences and I don’t think he has,” wrote Swann
The Pakistan left-arm bowler, who made a comeback in international cricket during the New Zealand series in January 2016, has been a target in some sections of the British press following his haul of 3/36 in the warm-up game against Somerset.
The BBC ran a headline in their mobile service: ‘Spot-fixer Amir Takes Three Wickets on Return’. England skipper Alastair Cook warned that Amir would be given a hard time by the England fans.
“I’m sure there will be a reaction and that is right. That is part and parcel, that when you do something like that there are more consequences than just the punishment — that is something for him to cope with, whatever comes his way,” Cook had remarked.
Swann, who picked up 255 wickets in 60 Tests and who retired from the game in December 2013 following England’s horrendous Ashes tour, lamented that the authorities did not create stronger deterrents in order to prevent a repeat of these offences.
England take on Pakistan in the first Test starting in Lord’s on July 14.
