Reports of my retirement are ridiculous, says Mohammad Amir

Pakistani media had reported that left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir was considering retiring from Test cricket in order to focus his energy on the shorter formats of the game. However, the 25-year old has clarified that he has no intentions of quitting any format and will continue representing Pakistan in all the three formats.

“I have no idea what the thinking was behind this ridiculous story, I’m fit, strong and healthy and have no intentions of quitting any format. What I had said was that as a cricketer you have to take care of your body and look after your fitness levels and someone altered that statement and quoted me as saying that I wanted to quit playing Test cricket. It’s totally untrue and as long as I am fit I want to play in all formats," Mohammad Amir told Sky Sports in an interview.

Amir was charged for spot-fixing during Pakistan's match against England in 2010 and was handed a five-year ban by the International Cricket Council. He made a return to international cricket on January 15, 2016 in a T20I against New Zealand. Since his return, Amir has scalped 43 wickets in 14 Tests during a mixed period for Pakistan’s Test side. 

The lackluster show with the ball in Tests hasn't perturbed Amir, who insisted he is returning to his best shape.

“I was not under any false impressions that my comeback would be easy and that I would hit the ground running. I never touched a ball during my ban yet people expected me to make an instant impact. That was an impossible task and yet critics were writing me off straight after my comeback. It’s been about 18 months since my comeback and I think I am now showing the results of the hard work that I have put in. People need to be patient and I had to be patient, too, as these things take time," Amir concluded.