Misbah-Ul-Haq expresses his dissapointment over Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz taking Test retirement

One of the things that have long been a source of debate ever since franchise cricket took centerstage was around country vs club. And, we have seen over the course of the past decade or so, many cricketers ditching the grind of Test cricket in order to prolong their white-ball as well as a career in franchise leagues.

And, we saw that this year too, when the spearheads of Pakistan bowling unit- Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz- ditched Test cricket in favour of playing only white-ball cricket back in July. The decision to take retirement by Amir and Riaz from Test match cricket was met with severe backlash from both fans as well as former cricketers. And, now head coach cum chief selector Misbah-Ul-Haq has also expressed his views on the matter.

Misbah expressed his disappointment at the duo’s decision, saying that after invested in them so much, to see them go elsewhere isn’t great. “You invest so much on these players, and when preference should be given to the country and you go elsewhere, it’s not the right thing to do,” said Misbah as he expressed his disappointment over Amir and Riaz’s decision as quoted by Times Now.

Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have been subjected to criticism by former cricketers

This is not the first time that Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have been lambasted for taking a premature retirement. Earlier on the tour of Australia, former captain and champion fast bowler Wasim Akram had said that if were the PCB, he wouldn’t have given Amir the white-ball contracts either.

Former cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Ramiz Raja too had expressed their disappointment over the decision in past. While Akhtar “It was Amir’s time to pay back to Pakistan cricket. If I was 27, I would love to play Test cricket. It is the ultimate test for a cricketer. Amir should have carried on and helped Pakistan win Tests, a format in which the team is struggling,” the fast bowling legend was quoted by Sportstar.

While cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja had said, “Amir white flagging Test Cricket at 27 is disappointing. Besides being dismissive of the greatest format that makes stars & legends his decision is clearly not in line with the needs of [Pakistan cricket] which is desperately looking to reboot test cricket. Was time to repay & not eject (sic).”

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