Wasim Akram reveals why he picked Mohammad Amir in his side

When a senior from a cricket-loving Pakistani family says that they were privileged to watch the legendary pacer Wasim Akram live in action, the younger generations are bound to feel lucky to witness Mohammad Amir. Finally, the two left-arm Pakistani pace spearheads from two different generations are set to amalgamate for the Maratha Arabians, in the T10 Cricket League (TCL).

After a purple patch, Amir is currently not going through a very great phase. Yet, Akram, the coach-cum-mentor of the Arabians, put his money on him when the other renowned players, like the hero of CT 2017 final Fakhar Zaman, mystery spinner Sunil Narine and the big Windian all-rounder, Kieron Pollard were up for grabs.

“It was a difficult choice, but what I think is that T10 will be all about bowling. The best team will be the team with the better bowling attack. Bits and bobs players won’t work here. In T20, you can still say ‘OK, this player can give you one over’. But in T10, I think the professional, regular bowlers have to bowl. That is why Amir was the pick, because he bowls a good yorker, and he has got pace,” the man from Lahore said about his pick, as per reports in The National.

It seems the owner of 502 ODI wickets is not significantly worried about Amir’s poor form since he said, “It is one of those phases that everyone goes through, even if, okay, it is a little prolonged. Sometimes you bowl well and don’t get wickets, and other times you bowl you are lucky to get a five-for. As long as he has got the pace, and he is still only 25, I reckon he can get back into gear with one spell, a couple of quick wickets. I am not worried about him at all.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) coach, Dougie Brown also shared the same view. “He is an outstanding death bowler, and you would suggest that in a 10-over competition, two overs per bowler is going to be two overs of death,” Brown said.

Wasim feels T10 cricket can be successful

Just after its announcement, the T10 Cricket League accumulated many haters, who were disgusted with this cutting down of overs from the game. Akram, however, shares a different opinion.

“Nobody knows what is going to happen and what plan you require for this format. When T20 cricket came in 10 years ago, everybody raised their eyebrows, but the idea is to have entertainment. In this country, time is of the essence. Kids don’t have time. They go to school, they come back, they do some sport. I think T10 can be successful. It is a new format, and that is exciting to me,” he said.

Maratha Arabians squad: Virender Sehwag (captain), Lendl Simmons, Ross Whiteley, Alex Hales, Hardus Viljoen, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Roussouw, Mohammad Sami, Kamran Akmal, Imad Wasim, Kumar Sangakkara, Mohammed Amir, Reolof Van Der Merwe, Shaiman Anwar & Zahoor Khan.