'Amir will play come what may' - Mohammad Amir recalls Shahid Afridi's backing in his odd days

Pakistan cricket fraternity and people around the world underwent a state of shock when star pacer Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from the international circuit. He was dropped from the current tour of Pakistan to New Zealand and felt it as a wake-up call that pushed him to take the decision. Amir stated that he was in a constant rift with Pakistan Management as they didn’t let him have his chances on numerous occasions.

Ever since he has moved out of the international circuit, he has been talking about the incidents where he had to push his limits to be part of the playing squad of Pakistan, post his punishment for spot-fixing. Talking about one such incident, the 28-year-old said that Shahid Afridi stood with him when the entire squad was against him.

“The entire team was on one side and did not want to play with me, but Shahid bhai said, ‘Amir will play come what may’. I will always be thankful to these two (Afridi and former PCB chairman Najam Sethi),” said Amir in a YouTube video.

Amir also revealed his state of mind before he took this life-changing decision. He added that it’s not an easy decision, and not everyone has the guts to do it. He stated that wherever he made a mistake, he clearly apologized for it.

I took this step after putting much thought into it: Mohammad Amir

“This is not an emotional decision. I took this step after putting much thought into it, See, not everyone has [the same] guts as I have. If I made a mistake, I came clean in front of everyone and apologized for it as well and faced this issue. “I came back and with Allah’s help, bowled a very good spell at the Asia Cup and then became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the PSL. I also helped Pakistan win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017,” he added.

Amir is Pakistan’s 8th highest wicket-taker so far, and his career hit him severely after he announced his Test retirement.