ICC World Cup 2019: 3 reasons why Mohammad Amir couldn't fit in the Pakistan squad

Mostly, all the squads are out and as expected, there have been surprising inclusions and exclusions made by the respective cricket boards. Some tough calls have been taken on some quality players but nonetheless, the world goes on and having said that the ICC CWC 2019 is fast approaching.

Pakistan announced their squad on Thursday and while the rest of the squad looks settled, one notable absentee was Mohammad Amir. The 27-year-old was the one who bowled Pakistan to 2017 Champions Trophy title and one would expect that with his pace and aggression. He would walk into any squad in the world but that’s not the case here.

Pakistan grabbed eyeballs by leaving out the left-arm seamer and by naming him in the reserves team, not ruling out the chance of a dramatic last-minute call-up. While his exclusion has come to everybody’s surprise, let’s have a look at the 3 reasons why Amir wasn’t picked for the World Cup Squad.

1. Presence of two left-arm seamers in the squad

While Amir missing the cut may come as a surprise to many, it should be noted that his replacements are better than him at the moment (current form and consistency). Shaheen Afridi has emerged as a top bowler for Pakistan ever since he made his debut in 2018. With Raw pace, Shaheen is a threat to any batsman in England and his ability to swing the ball on a consistent basis is what pips him over Amir.

In 10 ODI’s, the left-arm seamer has got 19 wickets to his credit at an astounding average and economy of 19.37 and 4.79 respectively. These numbers are enough for him to walk in any of the World Cup squads going around.
Junaid Khan is another prolific left-arm seamer in the squad and while his fitness has always been a problem for him, it does seem that this time he is fit and rating to go.

Junaid’s strong wrist position does not allow the batsmen to pick the ball early but at a fast clip. The 29-year-old is one of the most experienced players in the 15-man Pakistan squad, having played as many as 74 ODI’s with 108 wickets at 28.46 and 5.26. Moreover, Junaid is a regular feature in his county side, Lancashire and way more experienced on English pitches than any of his teammates. This could be an advantage that he holds over his teammate, Mohammad Amir.

2. Amir’s stats since ICC CT 2017 final

Amir bowled a fiery spell against the Indian top-order and it sure did bring back memories of him swinging speeds of more than 145 kph. He picked up 3 wickets in the game and turned the final into Pakistan’s favour. However, since that one dreamy performance, Amir has totally disappeared, picking up only 5 wickets from 101 overs of bowling at a very below par average of 92.60 per wickets.

Mark Wood comes second in the list of bowlers having the worst bowling averages in the last two years (min. 600 balls bowled) with 47.75, nearly twice as good of that of Amir. Amir’s economy during his barren run was at an impressive 4.58 but he’s never in the team to dry up runs but to pick wickets upfront with the new ball, at a raw pace coupled with swing.

Pakistan can make changes to their squad until May 23 without the approval of ICC and Amir is in the ODI squad that takes on England next month. There is a possibility for Amir to make it to squad if he troubles the English batsmen.

3. Inability to swing the ball

Amir doesn’t swing the ball anymore. So what is his role in the team? Mohammad Amir throughout his career has specialized in bowling quick and swinging the ball at the same time. He doesn’t bowl in the middle overs and he bowls the majority of his overs in his opening spell. He shows that Pakistan is heavily reliant on him to deliver with the new-ball. Amir without swing is as good as Virat Kohli without the bat.

Amir doesn’t fit into the team dynamics if he doesn’t swing the ball and in the last 2 years, he has given enough reasons that their board needs to look beyond him. If Amir isn’t in the squad, that’s because he has lost the sheen of swinging and his confidence has taken a major hit. Pakistan have probably ticked the right boxes by not naming him in the 15-man squad. Amir has one last chance to prove his worth in the upcoming ODI series against England, next month.

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