Amir fit for final, Bumrah says anything can happen
Pakistan receive shot in the arm as Amir attends full nets; India pacer not dropping guard for final
Sunday’s ICC Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan could be decided by the better bowling unit. Under the circumstances, the Pakistan camp received a shot in the arm on Friday morning when Mohammad Amir turned up for a full net session at The Oval.
This morning, India were on the road to London after whipping Bangladesh by nine wickets in Birmingham on Thursday. The players spent a well deserved off day.
Pakistan had their first on-field training session after stunning England in the first semifinal in Cardiff on Wednesday. All eyes were on Amir, who missed the semifinal due to a back problem. Pakistan’s premier left-arm seamer, with two wickets in three Champions Trophy matches so far, bowled with his natural run-up and pace much to the delight of the team management.
Amir’s fitness will be tested again on Saturday and Pakistan are in no hurry to rush the 25-year-old because they have adequate back-up.
Pakistan’s bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, who has played a lot of County cricket for Surrey, the caretakers of The Oval, said: “When you go to a final, you want your experienced player, you want him to be fully fit and participating on that particular day.” He added that any hint of discomfort will not leave Pakistan in the lurch.
“(He has been told that) if he has any doubt he should let us know. He bowled today. He is fine. Yeah, definitely you would go with Amir, but we don’t mind if Amir can’t play. If he is not fit, then we have to move on.”
Amir was replaced by rookie left-arm pacer Rumman Raees, who had come in for Wahab Riaz. Wahab had injured himself during the first group B match against India on June 4.
If Amir reported fit, another impressive seamer Hasan Ali, Pakistan’s leading bowler, skipped nets due to a calf niggle. His absence was more of a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, India have been riding their latest pace twins Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. In conditions where the white ball has not swung and wickets are great for batting, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have won a lot of praise from their captain Virat Kohli for checking runs.
Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar’s top-of-off-stump line, against both South Africa and Bangladesh, forced the batsmen to commit errors. Bumrah knows Sunday will be a big day and all the good work so far will be wiped away if India lose to Pakistan. “Not at all surprised to see Pakistan in the final, not at all because cricket is a funny game,” he said.
“Anything can happen in any game, you cannot become complacent or take anything lightly. We’ve reached the final now, so we’ll plan. There are no easy games.”