Mohammad Amir broke through onto the international stage as a 17-year-old and my word did he impress. How many other players have managed to write their name on the honour board at Lord’s at 18 years of age? Not many.
From all the highlight clips on YouTube and from what I remember of his bowling, he was quick-quick-quick and swung it in late to the right hander.
To put it simply, Shane Watson’s worst nightmare.
Unfortunately he copped a five-year ban for spot-fixing.
A vulnerable young man under the pressure and instruction of senior players and illegal bookmakers, by no means is he free of guilt in the whole ordeal but he was caught up in a sad situation which has left a dark stain on his reputation.
Now 23, Amir still has the time to become a legend of the game. He has the talent, and after five years out he will be champing at the bit to make up for lost time.
Amir has kicked off his career for the second time playing domestic cricket in Pakistan for the past several months. The next step is step into the international arena again, hopefully donning the whites in the Pakistani Test side.
He might play a bit of IPL along the way but all the while he will be taking wickets, and then he will take more wickets.
Like Australia’s premier left-arm fast bowler, Mitchell Starc, he is more than capable of playing all three forms of the game. It can be argued the Amir of five years ago is a better bowler than the Starc of now.
Amir was absolutely deadly with the ball in hand before his ban. Honestly, he was just a kid and he was ripping out the stumps for fun. And these weren’t any old mugs, these were some of the best batsmen in the world.
At 18 he was the youngest player to reach 50 Test wickets, and was hailed as one of the world’s most promising bowlers.
He is more than capable of going past Wasim Akram’s tally of 414 Test wickets in the time he has left in his career.
Can he become a legend of the game? Sure.
Will the cricket world allow him to become a legend? Maybe.
Or will Mohammad Amir forever be the kid lost to scourge of match-fixing?
Ayyaz Dar
Roar Rookie
I have a 17 year old intelligent your son who this year has made quite a few errors. He has learned and moved on. AMIR MUST ALSO BE GIVEN THE SAME CHANCE. After all it is in our nature to make mistake. The PCB HAD a responsibility of protecting their young boys and they weŕe not punished for showing lack of leadership.
Targa
Guest
The kid was as good as Trent Boult and is a couple of years younger. Certainly a special talent.
Dk
Guest
Hell yes,wen u r a 17 year old boy n touring a country like Australia or England trying to have an impact on opposition u do get over excited especially wen u come from a background he comes from,n wen ur captain ask u to get a whip on ur ass,u would n there was d point Amir had to follow considering he was naive n was trying to make his name fearing he myt neva play again if he doesn't do well or do not follow his captains orders.Having said that he shud have gone on to some other senior players n discussed the whole thing before committing wat he did but then again he was newly born kid n naive who didn't know any mathematics of the game but to bowl.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Done the time. Hope he redeems himself. Though no one was ever charged, the silly thing is Pakistan could have won the earlier dodgy series in Australia if they had not been so intent on chucking it. Should have put money on themselves to win and gone for it.
SM
Guest
I remember how naive I was at that age. Fortunately none of the mistakes I make then were that serious or had a lasting impact on myself or anyone else. You're still just a boy. I would imagine he thought spot-fixing wasn't that a big deal, particularly after being convinced by the other two. Being a kid, I doubt he'd even heard of Cronje, Azharuddin, and the like.
Nick
Guest
Rubbish. Of course he would've been pressured by senior players, he's not blameless but this idea that a 18 year old is in full control is ridiculous. At that age your older fellow employees would have a major role in your life and the pressure would've been immense
Riccardo
Guest
I disagree with Blake and can appreciate the author's point regarding culture, team dynamics and the influence of his co-accused. I don't recall reading about him walking barefoot to training. Nevertheless, nothing changes the fact he was guilty, has done his time and been given another opportunity which I hope he doesn't squander. Amir is a rare talent and could already be a household name given his early success. I really hope he hasn't lost that beautiful action and that his more mature body allows him to retain that express pace. Potentially a bowling great in my book...
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
I'm happy for him to get another chance but the vulnerable young man walking barefoot to training routine is crap. At 17 he was a confident and intelligent bowler, outsmarting greats like Ricky Ponting on the biggest stage at the MCG. He knew exactly what he was doing. The three players and what they were caught for did not even scratch the surface of what was going on with that Pakistan team, how the hell was Kamran Akmal never caught. The game is now so rife with spot fixing and corruption that it's hard to see what can be done about it.