Pacer Mohammad Amir's contentious sacking from Pakistan's T20I squad hasn't gone down well at all with the team's former head coach Mickey Arthur.
Arthur, who, in the aftermath of Pakistan's 2019 World Cup league-stage exit, was removed from his position by the PCB, believes dropping Amir from the line-up in the shortest format, just one year before the T20 World Cup, was definitely not the right call from the selectors.
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Amir was dropped in controversial circumstances, with the new team management, led by head coach and chief selector Misbah Ul Haq, lamenting his decision to quit Test cricket last year due to burnout issues.
"I wouldn’t imagine Pakistan going to the World T20 without Amir. He is a match-winner. If you leave him out of the fray you potentially are sacrificing chances of winning the tournament," Arthur said in an interview on a YouTube cricket channel.
Arthur said Amir, and also Wahab Riaz, had informed him before turning their backs on Test cricket. "Amir spoke to me about it and he kept me in the loop on his decision. We discussed it many times. But maybe I was too hard on him playing him in every Test I could. I could see he was losing his hunger for test cricket and his body was not able to handle the pressure of three formats."
“Amir is a top-class bowler and a match-winner. I love to watch him bowl. But by deciding to leave Test cricket I think he has given himself a chance of extending his white-ball career," added the 51-year-old, who has taken over for Sri Lanka as head coach.
With Arthur around, Pakistan lifted the 2017 Champions Trophy and reigned supreme on top of the ICC T20I rankings.
"The thing about Pakistan cricket is that the people are so emotionally attached to the game. Either you are king or you are down there. There is no middle way. I loved and hated that facet off Pakistan cricket. But I think people need to be patient you can’t get instant results. You need to give chances to new players to find their feet."
"Pakistan has some wonderful young players, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Haris Sohail, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and of course Babar Azam. I think this is the core of players Misbah should depend on to carry Pakistan cricket forward," Arthur added.
(Inputs from PTI)
