Mahmood suggest Amir to give up County, T20 leagues to concentrate on Tests

Pakistan bowling coach says ball is in ace pacer’s court to take a decision

Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has suggested left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir to stop playing in English County and in domestic T20 leagues to lengthen his international career with the national team.

Amir, 25, earlier stated that he would be cutting down on the number of Tests he plays for Pakistan to make up for the five years he lost after being slapped with a spot-fixing ban, and Azhar believes he can alter his approach and instead stop playing outside the national team.

“Mickey Arthur and I have spoken about the recent remarks made by Amir about playing less [Test] cricket and we can sympathise with him on the issue as he came back to playing cricket after five years and was thrust into the limelight,” Azhar wrote in his blog for PakPassion. “Also he had to play almost all the games in all formats for Pakistan since his return. In between, he has also played County cricket as well as in other domestic T20 leagues.”

He continued: “My advice to Amir, if he wishes to give himself a break from back-to-back cricket is to not play County or T20 league cricket and instead concentrate on playing international cricket in all formats. This is simply because he is young, he has potential and if he looks after himself, he can go a long way without a doubt.”

Mahmood added that the pacer’s decision would be final but they will help him reach one which helps him and the Pakistan national team. “Amir now has to make the final decision on this but as the team management, we will speak to him and guide him to come to a conclusion which is best for him and is in the best interests of Pakistan cricket.”

On 2019 World Cup

Pakistan prodigy Hasan Ali, who was awarded the best bowler in last year’s Champions Trophy, credited Mahmood for guiding him to the top, and the bowling coach says they have a good bowling reserve ready in order to prepare for 2019 50-over World Cup.

“These are good signs for us as we are about a year-and-a-half away from the World Cup in England. Based on what we have seen in the Pakistan Super League, we are now in a position to discuss with the selection committee to see who the best choices are amongst these bowlers for Tests, ODIs and T20Is. This would help us rotate the personnel between games more effectively as well. So, the plan now is that after the end of the West Indies series, the team management will sit together with the selectors to discuss how best to look after the workload of the bowlers and plan ahead for the World Cup,” he explained.