The Amir enigma: From top to flop
MUMBAI: The Pakistan cricket team’s subdued pace bowling attack would have hurt the fans back home more than the ignominy of an early exit in the Asia Cup, which concluded in UAE on Friday.
Right from the days of Fazal Mahmood (1952-1962), Pakistan have produced a line of great fast bowlers, including the likes of Imran Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir among others.
More than crashing out of the Asia Cup, what left the Pakistan fans flummoxed was remembering the last time India had outperformed their pace attack. In the two games against India in the Asia Cup, Amir returned 0 for 23 in six overs and 0 for 41 in five overs. He failed to get a wicket against Hong Kong in the seven overs he bowled.
Contrast Amir’s display to the performance of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who took two wickets each against Pakistan in the two encounters and derailed Bangladesh with three for 37. In 40 ODIS Bumrah has played in his two-year-old career, he has 71 wickets. Amir’s tally is 58 in 46 ODIS.
The below par showing has cost the mercurial pace ace a place in the Pakistan Test side after he was left out for the upcoming series against Australia.
In an ideal scenario, Asia Cup would have been an Amir show, but it is Bumrah who has got rave reviews for his performance. In the last 10 ODIS Amir has played, the 26-yearold left-arm pacer has taken just three wickets and not bowled his full quota of 10 overs. He has gone wicketless in his last five ODIS. Former Pakistan Test player,
Average before ban
M 120 81
W 217 142
14
51
Career average
19
56 Mudassar Nazar, director of Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) National Cricket Academy and head of the 16 regional academies in Pakistan, put Amir’s struggles down to a fault in his run-up and fatigue in an exclusive chat over the phone from Lahore.
“In the last 16 to 18 months, the rhythm in his run-up has gone missing; he stops before he delivers… it results in him losing momentum and pace. That’s when one needs to push forcefully in the delivery stride,” said Nazar, a veteran of 76 Tests, who
6
28
Average after ban
18
23
23
29 was Imran Khan’s key man in his all-conquering side of the 1980s.
“There is a loss of confidence when you are not picking wickets.”
Comparing Amir’s bowling style with former greats, Nazar said: “Amir is a conventional pace bowler unlike Imran Khan,
Wasim Akram and
Waqar Younis.
They relied on attacking the stumps to get wickets, being fine exponents of
35
43 reverse swing.
Amir takes the ball away from the batsmen, and for that he needs a strong backing in the slip cordon as his victims will be caught behind. And, the Pakistan team has a weak slip cordon, which is not helping Amir.”
Amir toiled throughout the Asia Cup without success and to add to his woes, in came Junaid Khan as his replacement in the do-or-die game against Bangladesh and picked up four wickets for 19 runs in nine overs. From the leader of the attack to warming the bench, Amir’s career has come full circle. When he burst on to the scene as a teenager in 2009, the leftarm pacer used to be an irresistible force who made for compelling watching. He rattled the batsmen with sharp bouncers, cut them into half with vicious swing and made for a thrilling, complete package. The world was at his feet when he was banned for five years for spot-fixing in 2010.
FATIGUE FACTOR
Nazar said being out of the game for so long could have resulted in over-eagerness in Amir to make up for lost time. “Amir was out of the game for so long, so when he returned, he played a lot of games… fatigue sets in and mistakes start creeping in when you are fatigued,” said Nazar. As things stand, from being the hottest property to being a surplus in the team, Amir is enduring another frustrating chapter in his career.