Pont believes Amir, still just 23, has his best years in front of him. PHOTO: AFP
Former England cricketer and renowned fast-bowling coach Ian Pont has termed Muhammad Amir's technique to be better than the legend Wasim Akram.
In his blog for PakPassion, Pont said: "Mohammad Amir is quite simply, one of the finest left-arm prospects I have ever seen.
"He has a strong, repeatable action that helps him be consistent in release of the ball. He is biomechanically efficient in other words, which is something that technical coaches purr over.
Pont further added that Amir's natural action is prone to lesser injuries.
"We are all seeking bowlers who can achieve this as it means a lowering of potential injuries as well as an increase in accuracy and speed. Amir's pace (around 140 kph/87 mph) is plenty to cause problems and he could be even faster.
"Now, still just 23, he has his best years in front of him. But what makes him such a great bowler is the fact that he has a great strong wrist position - meaning he can shape and swing a cricket ball at pace."
While drawing comparison between the youngster and the great Wasim, Pont opined that Amir can be as good as the legend himself, even better.
"Clearly parallels will be drawn with Wasim Akram and the fact that Wasim will have mentored Amir at some point is inevitable.
"However, Amir has the potential to be just every bit as good as Wasim in my view. And that's because he has a far better action than Wasim had. His technique as a fast swing bowler is superior. The only thing it seems that can stop Mohammad Amir is himself."
The bowling coach also suggested Muhammad Asif how he can be more efficient if he makes a comeback.
"Mohammad Asif is a different animal," said Pont.
"Firstly he is now 32 and it will be difficult for him to prove himself against the other young quicks who have filled the void in his time away. He could do it, but it will be harder.
He also doesn't quite posses the same firepower pace as Amir but is able to extract good seam movement from the surface. I always felt watching Asif that if there was something in the pitch he would find it. And in that respect, he is much more of a traditional, seam up, hit the deck type of international bowler in the role of a Caddick, McGrath or Siddle type of bowler.
"I would like to see him gain an extra yard of pace and this would be done by trying to avoid a collapsed/bent front leg and 'throwing away' his non-bowling arm too early. As a front on bowler, he would benefit too from a slightly faster run up and better alignment with his arm pull (he pulls the ball sometimes from the leg side). All of these factors would help him hit the bat harder without losing his assets, thus making him a more dangerous bowler.
"I don't know if he would ever be someone to take on this type of work. Even if he didn't, he still has great skill levels."
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