Mohammad Amir Deserves Second Chance to Play for Pakistan Cricket Team: Geoffrey Boycott

Mohammad Amir should play for Pakistan cricket team again if he can prove his merit, feels former England Test opener Geoffrey Boycott. Mohammad Amir is making a return to competitive cricket after serving a ban for match-fixing. He is currently playing for Chittagong Vikings in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The 23-year-old left-arm seamer has consistently picked wickets in domestic cricket and has been serving the Vikings well in the Bangladesh Premier League. On Sunday, he took four wickets for 30 runs but Chittagong lost to Rangpur Riders by two wickets in a tight Twenty20 match.

Boycott feels Mohammad Amir deserves a "second chance" and Pakistan should not hold his tainted past against the young bowler. Amir has played 14 Tests, 15 ODIs and 18 Twenty20 internationals with a total haul of 99 wickets.

Amir last played a Test match in England in August 2010. He was charged for fixing matches along with teammates Salman Butt and Mohammed Asif. All three were banned for five years and only returned to cricket this September.

"I've always believed in the rule of law. Match-fixing, spot-fixing hurts the game of cricket. Their bans could have been longer but there again I would have a strong conversation with the judge who sent them to jail. But once they have served their sentence under the rule of law then society says you should be given a second chance," Boycott told PakPassion.net.

"If you are going to give people a second chance then it has to be all-in. Give them a proper chance, get fit, play well and if they are still good enough then give them a chance in the Pakistan team.

"Nobody should hold anything against Mohammad Amir. In fact this applies to any of them, or favour any of the three in any way. Amir and the other two should only get back into the Pakistan team on merit and ability," said Boycott, who has been involved with coaching in Pakistan in 2001.