Shoaib wants to guide Amir
AFP
AFP, KARACHI (PAKISTAN): Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akthar on Tuesday said he was eager to take youngster Mohammad Amir under his wing and guide him back to the national team following his return to cricket after a five-year ban.
Amir, 23, was suspended along with then-captain Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Asif for bowling no-balls to order as part of a complex betting scam exposed by a tabloid sting during Pakistans tour of England in 2010.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) lifted all sanctions on the trio earlier this month, making them eligible for domestic and international matches.
Akhtar, the fastest bowler in history, said he was looking to buy a team in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament that will be staged in Qatar in February, and wanted to recruit Amir.
I am planning to buy a team in the PSL and would like to have Amir in my team so that I can guide him and make him an effective bowler, Akhtar, who retired in 2011, told AFP.
Now 40, Akhtars career briefly overlapped with Amir, who made his debut in 2009 aged 17.
The pair shared the attack in two one-day internationals in the 2010 Asia Cup and two Twenty20s against Australia in England the same year, before Amirs career crashed to a halt following the ban.
Everyone knows how talented Amir was when he played cricket so on his return he will have to work hard to become the same bowler, said Akhtar.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has devised a rehabilitation programme for all three players, with Amir already playing grade cricket since April this year under a special dispensation by the ICC.
He picked up seven wickets in his last match, a non first-class qualifier for the Sui Southern Gas Company, with a cunning mix of inswingers, outswingers, bouncers and varied angles from over and around the wicket.
While some influential voices, including ex-captain-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja, have voiced their opposition to the spot-fixing trio ever being allowed to represent their country again, Akhtar said it was right for them to get a second chance.
I have seen them suffer in the last five years so all three must be treated in the same manner, said the former player, whose own career was dogged by controversy including a drug scandal, an infamous dressing room fight and frequent claims of insubordination.
Imagine Pakistans attack with Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Shahid Afridi and Yasir Shah and if they play together we can win the next World Twenty20, he added.
Meanwhile, fast bowler Mohammad Amir has said that a return to international cricket is not his current focus and has stressed that domestic cricket will be his top priority in the months ahead.
My focus is on domestic cricket at the moment and it would be premature for me to start thinking about when or if I will play for Pakistan again, Amir told PakPassion.net. Im not worrying over when I will play for Pakistan, instead I am just focussing on my domestic form and then leaving the rest to the selectors.
I have to take things step by step and not try to get ahead of myself. International cricket is a tough environment its not a joke. There is a lot of pressure on you in international cricket and I feel that I have to ensure that I am fully ready before Im talked about for an international recall.
Im really satisfied with my seven wickets against ZTBL in my first four-day match after my ban, Amir said. It couldnt have gone any better really on a very flat track. I feel as if day by day, my bowling is improving. As you will have seen in the tournament in Rawalpindi my pace is increasing and my confidence is higher now so the signs are very good.
