Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir will return to Lord’s after six years of ban from International Cricket. (Source: AP)
Mohammad Amir’s fairytale comeback after a five-year ban from Cricket still remained a matter of controversy, with former England offspinner Graeme Swann questioning the fast bowler’s morality. Swann launched a direct attack on Amir when the Pakistan cricket team arrived in England.
Though some sections of the British Press have offered sympathy to the left-arm fast bowler, others have not been so considerate on his return to the pitch. Some of the former England players have also critisised the fast bowler’s involvement with Cricket who felt that “Amir had crushed the morality of the game”.
Other sections of British press did not sigh away from tagging the “Spot-fixer” in Amir when he picked up three wickets in the warm-up game against Somerset. The BBC ran a headline in their mobile service: ‘Spot-fixer Amir Takes Three Wickets on Return’.
The Sun quoted Swann as saying, “Amir will walk out on the green and glorious turf at Lord’s on Thursday — and it will make me feel sick. He should have been banned for life for his part in the corruption scandal of 2010. No matter how good you are, if you sell your soul for 30 pieces of silver, you have to pay the consequences and I don’t think he has.”
Swann, who retired from International cricket in December 2013, further stated that the authorities “did not create stronger deterrents in order to prevent a repeat of these offences.”
England skipper Alastair Cook had also warned that Amir should be ready to get a hard time by the England fans. “I’m sure there will be a reaction and that is right. That is part and parcel, that when you do something like that there are more consequences than just the punishment — that is something for him to cope with, whatever comes his way,” Cook said.
Amir had picked up 6/84 in the fourth Test at Lord’s in 2010 but later admitted to spot-fixing. Amir later made a comeback to International Cricket during the New Zealand series in January 2016.
Pakistan will play England in the first test match at Lord’s on July 14.
