Mohammad Amir might have regained form but Misbah-ul-Haq isn’t convinced yet

Mohammad Amir returned among wickets on Friday when he took 3 for 26 against the Windies in Pakistan’s opening game in ICC World Cup 2019 at the Oval. Incidentally, Amir’s last three-wicket haul had come at the same venue almost two years ago against India in the final of the Champions Trophy. However, Pakistan had a comprehensive win on that occasion over the arch-rivals. They were blown away by the Caribbean in the latest game despite the left-arm seamer’s effort.

Pakistan had a forgettable outing with the bat as they were bundled out for 105 by a strong-looking West Indian pace battery and lost the match by seven wickets. However, despite being the only wicket-taker for Pakistan, 27-year-old Amir failed to win the hearts of all his countrymen and of them is former captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

‘Still worried about his bowling form’

According to Misbah, who had led Pakistan to the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup as a 41-year-old, Amir was not generating enough pace and not swinging the ball enough. “You could say there [was] one positive for Pakistan that Amir [was] among the wickets [as] he got three. But I am [still] worried about his bowling form,” Misbah was quoted as saying by cricfrenzy.com.

“Because your team is bundled out [for] 105 runs, your premium first bowler comes on to bowl the first over and his average speed is 81mph, no swing, no zip. And suddenly the opposition feels comfortable.”

Amir was picked in the final World Cup squad replacing Faheem Ashraf after Pakistan bowling struggled against England in the recent ODI series. He came into the World Cup with five wickets from 15 games and an average of 92.60. He went wicketless in six consecutive games in this phase. The Pakistan selectors and team management included him in the squad to add to the experience factor.

Wahab Riaz is the other bowler who was brought in though he went without rewards in the West Indies game. Pakistan next play England in Nottingham on Monday and will be keen to pick their first points in the tournament. It will though be a herculean task for them for England are in a peak form and crushed South Africa by 104 runs in their first match.