‘There were many times I feared I would never play cricket again’
Mohammad Amir tells Mazher Arshad how he has rebuilt his career and reputation after the spot-fixing scandal
M‘A man should always be working hard. Being a Muslim, I have always believed that if you are working hard you are rewarded with great results’
ohammad Amir is 26 years old. It is a fact worth underlining, as this is a young man whose life has witnessed more tumult and turmoil than most people twice his age. He took a wicket with his second ball in international cricket as a 17-year-old and led Pakistan’s Test attack just a year later before – most ignominiously – being banned for five years for spotfixing during the 2010 tour of England, a crime which also earned him a six-month sentence in a young offenders’ institution, later reduced to three on appeal.
No wonder there is a certain world-weariness to Amir as he returns to England, older but hopefully wiser.
Amir is now well established back in the sport he loves. He returned to domestic cricket in Pakistan in 2015 and the national team a year later, playing four Tests in England in 2016 – including one at Lord’s, the scene of his original crime – and has also played county cricket for Essex. But it is a measure of the impact the spot-fixing scandal had on cricket that, for many observers, it will forever define Amir’s career.
The facts of the case were simple, if shocking. On the evening of Aug 28, 2010, the
News of the World revealed three of Pakistan’s leading players – Amir, captain Salman Butt and experienced fast bowler Mohammad Asif – had agreed to fix elements of the fourth Test, which was about to enter its fourth day.
An agent, Mazhar Majeed, was filmed by an undercover reporter counting out bribe money and explaining that Amir would bowl a no-ball with his first delivery of the third over of the first day. Sure enough, Amir obliged, and by such a huge margin that Michael Holding, commentating for Sky, could only say “Wow”.
Most of the opprobrium was reserved for Butt and Asif, the senior pros in the team widely seen as having coerced an impressionable teenager into wrongdoing. That view was reflected in their own punishments – a 10-year ban and
30-month prison sentence for Butt, seven years and 12
months for Asif. Amir, meanwhile,
elicited sympathy, as well as scorn – Holding broke down in tears live on air when reflecting on how Amir had been dragged into the scandal. But despite a public apology in 2011, just before his sentencing, a cloud still hung over his reputation. So, did Amir ever consider walking away for good? “Not only once, on many occasions I thought I would never come back on a cricket field,” Amir tells The Daily Telegraph. “Five years is a
long time. But my family and friends supported me a lot. My lawyers,
Gareth and Sajida, always kept me motivated. But,
yes, there were many moments when I thought I would not play cricket again.”
Amir hopes that this tour will represent another major step on his journey towards redemption. His rehabilitation picked up pace at the Oval last year, when he skittled India’s powerful batting line-up and won Pakistan the ICC Champions Trophy. As the game fell during Ramadan, most fans back home in Pakistan were able to celebrate their Iftar meals at the same time as Amir was ripping out India’s top order, including the most valuable wicket in the world, Virat Kohli, turning the game into a victory march.
“I had missed the semi-final against England due to a back spasm, but people thought I was faking injury,” he says. “That meant I wanted to give 100 per cent in the final. India v Pakistan is a match watched by half of the world – if not the whole world – and I enjoy playing under that pressure. It is good to know that I do well when Pakistan need me the most.”
Last week’s inaugural Test in Ireland might not qualify as one of cricket’s most seismic occasions, but Amir’s five wickets and exceptional control showed he is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly in England in late spring. Conditions at Lord’s this week and then Headingley should suit him.
“I want to be the main player of the series. My target is to take 20 wickets in the three Tests in Ireland and England and win the series for Pakistan. England are not easy opposition. If you see their batting order, they have batsmen down to No8, so it will be a massive achievement if we win it.”
With Pakistan’s next tour to England scheduled in 2020, there is a possibility this could be Amir’s last Test series in this country. An early international retirement cannot be ruled out either, especially with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s new policy that will confine the contracted players to only one overseas league.
If that happens, Amir might soon be considering whether to relocate permanently to Britain – his wife, Narjis, with whom he had a daughter last September, is British-pakistani. That could then open up the possibility of playing in the Indian Premier League as a British citizen, a path established by Azhar Mahmood in 2012.
“It is too early to say anything, but I had talked about workload,” he says. “If the workload is more, then I will have to think about managing myself.
“Undoubtedly the amount of cricket has increased a lot and a fast bowler needs a recovery time. It gets difficult to play all the three formats without a break.
“Another concern for me is that I made a comeback after five years. I had played only four or five first-class matches before coming into the side as a regular player for all the formats. When there is so much workload on you, you have got to manage it somehow.”
Amir has plenty to ponder on his future, but given what happened eight years ago, the fact he has been able to have a career is something for which he can feel grateful.
“A man should always be working hard,” he adds. “Being a Muslim, I have always believed that if you are working hard you are rewarded with great results.”