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In a shocking turn of events, Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has decided to quit international cricket. The left-hander said that he has been experiencing ‘mental torture’ from the senior national team management and so he cannot continue playing international cricket.
Amir recently participated in the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2020 after being left out of the Pakistan side for the New Zealand series, starting from Friday (December 18).
Amir has played 30 Tests, 61 ODIs, and 50 T20Is in his international career, picking up a total of 259 wickets. His last appearance for Pakistan came in the T20I series against England in August 2020.
In a video shared by Pakistan journalist Shoaib Jatt on Twitter, Amir expressed disappointment over his exclusion from the 35-member squad for the New Zealand tour. The left-armer said he would be playing franchise cricket, but not for Pakistan.
“No, I am not going away from cricket. If you have seen the way the atmosphere over here and the way I have been sidelined. I got a wake-up call there when I was not selected in 35 boys. If I don’t get selected in the 35-member squad, then it is a wake-up call for me,” said Amir.
“To be honest, I don’t think I can play cricket under this management, I am leaving cricket, for now, I am being mentally tortured, I cannot handle it, I have seen it enough from 2010-2015. I have to hear that PCB invested a lot in me repeatedly, I am thankful to Shahid Afridi as he gave me chances when I came back after the ban,” he added.
Amir had retired from Test cricket in 2019 citing workload issues. The 28-year-old spoke about the criticism he received for leaving Test cricket, stating how some people have labelled him as a betrayer.
“Everyone wants to play for their country; they just keep saying that I left Test cricket for other leagues around the world, I made a comeback through BPL, if I was dying for leagues then I could have said I don’t want to play for Pakistan. Every month there is someone who is saying Amir ditched us, in two days I will reach Pakistan and then I will release a statement,” Amir added further.
Here is Pakistani fast bowler @iamamirofficial announcing retirement from international cricket as protest against Pak team management’s behaviour. he was talking to me pic.twitter.com/TMC2LDEZHb
— Shoaib Jatt (@Shoaib_Jatt) December 17, 2020
Shahid Afridi and Najam Sethi helped me when needed: Amir
Amir admitted that he is grateful of former PCB chairman Najam Sethi and all-rounder Shahid Afridi as they helped him when he returned after serving the 5-year ban regarding the spot-fixing scandal. Amir said he will always be thankful to Sethi and Afridi because they helped him during his tough days.
“I am being tortured again and again that PCB invested in me. I still give credit to the two people from PCB. I returned after completing the sentence of five years. Not that I returned after a year. Sethi Sahab and Shahid Afridi were the two people whom I will thank forever. Both of them supported me at a tough time. The rest of the team said that we would not play with Mohammad Amir,” remarked Amir.
