Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria feels Mohammad Amir is trying to blackmail others with his statements for a return to the team. Recently, Amir raised his voice against Pakistan team management and blamed them for his early retirement from international cricket.
The ex-Pakistan speedster may get British citizenship and he will be then eligible to play in IPL. Kaneria reacted to Amir's statements on his YouTube channel and said that Pakistan was kind to bring Amir back to the team after the spot-fixing scandal.
“I am taking nothing away from Mohammad Amir. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I feel he is trying to blackmail others with his statements so that he can make a return to the side. From his comments on moving to England and getting citizenship and playing the IPL, you can understand his headspace,” Kaneria said.
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“Mohammad Amir should realize that Pakistan were really kind to bring him back after his spot-fixing scandal. But his performance over the last 1.5 years has been absolutely zero. Agreed he bowled really well in the ICC Champions Trophy, but since then he has been on a steep decline," he added.
Kaneria further said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had pressurized the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, and Mohammad Hafeez to support Amir after he returned from the spot-fixing ban.
“When you (Amir) were excluded from the team after a decline, you then proceeded to claim that I will not play with this management. Despite them being the ones who backed Mohammad Amir. When I talk about people like Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, the board pressured them to support Mohammad Amir and bring him back to the team. Even some commentators did not want to support Amir, but they had to because the commentary was their bread and butter,” he revealed.
Amir recently said that the decision t quit playing for Pakistan was tough for him. He may soon get British citizenship and it will open doors for him in IPL.
“Retiring from playing for your beloved country isn’t an easy step to take. I thought a lot about this decision, I spoke to those close to me and only then did I reach this decision. If I go into all of the details and re-open all those chapters then it will get very ugly.
"I hope that our players, especially the youngsters in future don’t have to face what I had to face as I don’t want our younger players to get disheartened and have to sacrifice their careers like I did,” Amir was quoted as saying by PakPassion.net
"At the moment I’ve been granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. I’m enjoying my cricket these days and plan to play for another 6 or 7 years so let’s see how things go," Amir said.
"My children will grow up in England and receive their education there so no doubt I will be spending a fair amount of time there. At the moment, I've not really thought about the other possibilities and opportunities available and how things will turn out when I receive British citizenship in the future," he further added.
