ICC World Cup 2019: Sarfaraz Ahmed’s statements put a question mark over Mohammad Amir’s selection

With the ICC World Cup 2019 approaching fast, every team is on the verge of finalizing their squads which have to be submitted to the ICC by the end of April. One team that has made good strides in this direction is Pakistan that has shortened their list of World Cup probables to 23 players and has left out some big names.

One name that is still hanging in middle is of fast bowler Mohammad Amir. Since the Champions Trophy final at the Oval in 2017 when he produced a match-winning spell of 3 for 16 against India, Mohammad Amir, has not taken more than a wicket in 14 ODIs and had a streak of nine ODI matches in which he went wicketless.

Sarfaraz Ahmed not sure of Amir’s inclusion in the World Cup squad

A bigger concern for skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed is that Amir has averaged around 92 for those 14 wickets and his strike rate and pace have all been on the decline. His inclusion in the Pakistani World Cup squad is not concrete and if one has to go by the comments of Ahmed, the news doesn’t seem good for Amir or his fans.

“When your main strike bowler is not taking wickets regularly obviously it causes concern to the captain. I can’t say whether he (Amir) will be in the World Cup squad or not but our minds are clear about our plans and when the squad is announced everyone will know,” Pakistani captain was quoted as saying by Times of India.

“Pakistan is due to play a five-match ODI series against England besides some matches against English counties in May and since every country has to give final shape to its 15-member World Cup squad by 23rd May, the selectors might want to have a final look at Amir before deciding on whether he plays in the mega-event or not,” a source claimed.

The source also mentioned that though coach Mickey Arthur has backed Amir to the full, with more pace options now available for him to choose from, he is having second thoughts about reposing faith in Amir in the big event. Amir, who has played 36 Tests, 50 ODIs and 43 T20Is, was banned for five-years in 2010 after being found guilty of match-fixing and was recently dropped from the Pakistani team after just one match in the recent five-match ODI series against Australia in UAE.

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