Mohammad Amir's Test retirement was always coming, says coach Mickey Arthur
Getty
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has revealed that he is not surprised by Mohammad Amir's decision to quit Tests, stating that he always saw it coming. Arthur hinted at the rigours of Test cricket taking a toll on Amir's body as the reason for the 27-year-old to hang his boots in the longest format.
When Mohammad Amir ran through the English batting at Lord's to claim a six-wicket haul way back in 2010, he was just 18-years-old. When the whole world thought that Cricket had just given birth to its next great superstar, tragedy struck as he was caught on the wrong side of a spot-fixing scandal, which saw him getting banned from all forms of Cricket altogether for the next six years.
Six years later, in 2016, Amir made his much-awaited comeback to the longest format of the game, but to everyone's disappointment, the boy who sparked up the whole stadium with his impeccable swing bowling looked long gone. Ever since his return, Amir has struggled to find his feet in Test Cricket and has barely been a shadow of his former self.
Last week, the Pakistani pacer announced his retirement from the longest format of the game at the age of just 27. The decision was heavily criticized by former Pakistani legends, notably Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akthar, who believed Amir took the easy way out. While this decision has come out as shocking for many, it has not been a surprise for Pakistan's coach Mickey Arthur, who has closely monitored the progress of Amir ever since his second coming.
"It was on the cards for a long while. Amir had been speaking to me about it with me for some time now. His Test career was taking a strain on his body," Arthur was quoted as saying by ToI.
Arthur also revealed that the team management took conscious efforts to manage the workload of Amir, and even considered only fielding him in away matches in order to keep him fresh and get him in the best shape to utilize his potential in bowler-friendly conditions.
"Of course there was (a possibility Amir would only play away). We managed him through the South African series. He didn't play any Test cricket during the UAE last year. That was part of his management, and we started putting that in place because we wanted him for the South African series," he said.
"It's not about management here. It's about his desire to play Test cricket and the effects it has on his body... reluctantly I accepted his decision because that's what he wanted to do and that's what he thought was best for himself," Arthur explained.
Arthur also feels that Amir would have been in a much better condition physically, had he managed himself better during the five years he was away from the game. However, he admitted that it was not right to fault Amir for that, as he was going through a very dark period in his life, having gotten banned from Cricket.
"He (Amir) had five years out of the game...In those five years, he didn't do anything. His body was not up to the rigours of day in, day out Test cricket," Arthur said.
"He could have managed those five years better. He'd be the first one to acknowledge that. But I understand where he was in his whole life, so it was a tough period for him. I understand all that," he added.
