Mohammad Amir announces his retirement [Source: @SirTahmidAhmed/X.Com]
Following the retirement of his best friend, Imad Wasim, fast bowler Mohammad Amir has also announced his retirement from international cricket. Interestingly, this was Amir's second retirement, as he came out of his retirement life to play for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
Amir, who was banned from cricket for five years from 2010-2015 on spot-fixing charges, announced his first retirement in 2021. However, the tearaway pacer continued to play T20 franchise cricket across the globe, but three-years later, before the T20 World Cup, he reversed his decision as PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi convinced him to play for Pakistan again.
Once touted as the successor of Wasim Akram, Amir started off brightly and was one of the future stars for the Men in Green. He quickly made a name for himself across formats, but off-field fiasco led to his downfall at the international level.
After his latest retirement, Amir thanked PCB and wanted the new generation to take Pakistan cricket to new heights.
“It has been a great honour to play for Pakistan across all three formats. I know this is a difficult decision, but I feel this is the right time for the next generation to take the baton and elevate Pakistan cricket to new heights.
Mohammad Amir’s career marred with controversy
Amir helped Pakistan win the T20 World Cup in 2009 and his stocks were rising quickly before disaster struck in 2010. On the tour of England, he was found guilty of spot-fixing alongside Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt.
As a result of his actions, the pacer was banned from the game before he made his comeback in 2016. Amir once again cemented his place in the national side and was instrumental in Pakistan’s trophy-winning campaign at the Champions Trophy 2017.
However, in 2020, Mohammad Amir came out with a shocking news of his retirement, citing that he was mentally tortured by PCB and he no longer wants to serve them. Overall, Amir played in 36 Tests, 61 ODIs and 62 T20I matches, picking up 119, 81 and 71 wickets respectively.