Mohammad Amir gets warm welcome from Alastair Cook in Essex family

Premier Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir signed up with Essex for his maiden stint in the County Championships. The swing prospect from Pakistan is hopeful of learning new skills during his stint in England. He is set to make his debut for the team against Middlesex next week. He has joined the team already and is having a good time with his new teammates.

In a recent conversation with Sky Sports, Mohammad Amir revealed that Alastair Cook gave him a warm welcome and was very happy to see him. Interestingly, back in 2010 when Amir was caught in the spot fixing scandal, the then English skipper Alastair Cook had noted that the fixers should be banned for life. However, with the way Cook greeted Amir in England this time, things seem to be on a sweet note.

“”I met him the first day when I arrived and he was very nice. He said to me, the funny thing, ‘I want to learn Urdu (Amir’s native tongue), so you have to teach me,” quoted Mohamad Amir.

“No [there are no issues between us], nothing. He’s always nice and always very supportive. Everybody knows he’s a good batsman and a very nice human being, so I think it will be a very good journey with him. The way the people treat me, they are very nice to me; the way they gave me a reception was very, very inspiring for me,” he added further.

On his spell against India in CT 2017

Amir is certainly high on confidence after his spell with the new ball set up Pakistan’s win against India in the Champions Trophy 2017. Amir bagged the top three wickets of the Indian batting order to set the tone for a historic win for the men in green. Mohammad Amir called his spell as a career booster. He believes that playing the County now will only help him get better as a player and evolve even more.

“That was a career booster. The way I performed in the final for my country feels very, very good, I don’t have words for that. After the way we won the final, your confidence will go up, and I will use that, definitely. It will be a very good summer for me; my first time playing county cricket. I’ve met good people here and hope it will be a good journey,” Amir conceded.

He further noted that some people back home were not happy with his decision to stay back in England for County Championships after the Champions Trophy. However, Amir feels this is his time to prioritize his game more than anything else.

“Some people are angry [at this move] because they said ‘You should come home first’, but it’s a good opportunity for me, my career. It’s the standard of cricket. County cricket is going up; this standard you can’t find anywhere else. I can improve my cricket; that was the reason to come here. do believe [I can help deliver a championship]. When you do basics right anything is possible. I can try my best, so let’s see what’s going to happen next,” he concluded.