Mickey Arthur Opens Up On Mohammed Amir's Comeback In The National Team

Pacer Mohammad Amir was dropped from the Pakistan Test team for the series against Australia after a he had a poor outing in the 2018 Asia Cup in September. The left-arm speedster has since then been struggling to get back into the scheme of things. Opening up on Amir's struggle, coach Mickey Arthur on Wednesday revealed that he along with former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood have been working with Amir. Arthur also said the 26-year-old has been working hard on his bowling and will soon give the team management reasons to pick him back in the national side.

"We (Mahmood and Arthur) monitor Amir's progress. Every time he bowls, we look at the videos and send our comments back to him. Let's be clear about the fact that Amir is a quality bowler, he has a big-match temperament and I am hoping that we can have him back in the fold, sooner rather than later, provided he gives us the ammunition to pick him," Arthur said.

"It's runs for batsmen which is the criteria for selection and similarly, it is wickets for bowlers which are important. If we can get Amir swinging the ball again, getting through his action and be very comfortable with the hunger and desire to win games for Pakistan, then Amir has a big future with the side," he added.

Talking about Pakistan's victory over Australia in two-Test match series by 1-0 and three-match T20 International (T20I) series by 3-0, Arthur said, "Having coached Australia and then defeating them here in the UAE was a very special feeling not just for me but for all of us. I was particularly pleased about the very special cricket we played across all formats during the series."

Meanwhile, discussing Bangladesh's 37-run and first ever win over Pakistan in the 50-over format in the semi-finals of the Asia Cup, Arthur said," We were certainly very focused, and we trained incredibly hard for the tournament. It was one of the competitions where I saw for the first time a little bit of a lack of confidence within the side. This very young team were playing with a huge weight of responsibility and expectations and we did not deal with that pressure particularly well.

"Since the Asia Cup, I have been so proud of the way the boys have played their cricket. We sat down and had a proper group conversation about what we did in the Asia Cup. In that tournament, we were scared, and we showed a fear of failure for the first time," he added.

Pakistan are currently playing a three-match Test series against New Zealand, wherein New Zealand won the first Test by four runs while Pakistan won by an innings and 16 runs in the second Test. Both the sides will meet for the third and final Test on December 3 in Abu Dhabi.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Mohammad Amir Azhar Mahmood Cricket