Mohammad Amir names the toughest batsman he's bowled to

Mohammad Amir is a cricketer who has had a sinusoidal career graph, to say the least. On his best days, Amir could clinch the precious wicket of Sachin Tendulkar with his nagging outswingers and on his worst, like the one at Lord’s in 2010, he bowled an enormous no-ball to take his career into a dungeon. However, ever since his comeback to the Pakistan side in January 2016, Amir has put the wagging tongues of sceptics and critics to rest by letting his skill do the talking.

As a left-arm fast-medium bowler, Amir has 94 dismissals to his name in 28 Test matches at an average of 31.48. He had a decent run at the Champions Trophy, with the best bowling figures of 3 wickets in 6 overs for only 16 runs against India in the big night of the final. In a recent video Q/A session with fans, Amir opened up about his favourite wicket in the Champions Trophy, his mentor Wasim Akram and what he feels about MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

Mohammad Amir’s take on his contemporaries

Amir acknowledged to holding Virat Kohli in high regard as he said, “Kohli and De Villiers are both very dangerous batsmen but I believe that Kohli is the best.” He also commented that it “felt good to dismiss Virat Kohli twice in two balls as he’s a very good batsman.”

When asked about the toughest batsman he’s had to bowl to, he named two batsmen from the Aussie camp. “When I made my debut, Shane Watson was the toughest batsman to bowl to. Now Steve Smith is the toughest batsman to bowl to, he has an awkward technique and you can’t tell what he will do next,” he was quoted by by PakPassion as saying.

Speaking about former Indian skipper, Dhoni, the 25-year old pacer said, “MS Dhoni is a very humble person and he’s been a very good cricketer and captain for India.” Talking of his own national team peers, he rated Shoaib Malik as his favourite in the Pakistan team and termed him as somebody he holds in high regard. He also termed the three wickets he picked up in the finals to be his favourite ones from the Champions Trophy, 2017.

On his mentor, Wasim Akram

Amir had been first spotted as a prospect by pace genius, by the legend Akram in 2007 and he had remarked that the youngster was a much clever bowler than he was at the age of 18. “Wasim Akram has always been my favourite and I took up cricket after watching him play. He’s helped juniors in camps, myself too and I admire him a lot,” Amir described the role of his mentor in his life.

On criticism and future

He also added that he focuses on his batting whenever he gets a chance and added, “I don’t have any magic, I am returning after 5 years and have only been playing for around a year since my return. Things are getting better for me and God-willing performances will keep improving.”

On Rohit Sharma‘s comments about him being an average bowler, the left-arm pacer replied, “Everyone has their own opinions, I am just focusing on my performance. If someone calls me a big bowler, or a good or bad bowler, it doesn’t make a difference to me. People are free to state their opinions.”