A total of 147 international matches and 259 wickets for Pakistan. This is Amir’s tale in Pakistan’s national jersey. This is a story of a bowler who flirted with greatness, but, two or three dates in, found a way to blow it. The regret may always be there, but so will those magical times. That, as Amir knows full well, no deceitful mentor or uncompromising governing body can take away from him.
There have been many ups and downs in Muhammad Amir’s story since his international debut. There were many twists in the tale but neither Amir himself surrendered nor did the fans ever let go of him, but the announcement of retirement from international cricket is an anti-climax that even the storyteller himself is not aware of.
In Pakistan cricket, the ‘announcement’ of retirement is never a casual news, it is a complete ‘phenomenon’. First there are emotional messages, the ‘don’t leave now’ type thing. Then gradually, when the ‘announcement’ starts to get old, the sound of ‘IMBACK’ becomes a new ‘announcement’ and falls on the headlines.
We have come across many such ‘announcements’ in the recent past. Although the announcement of Muhammad Yusuf’s retirement cannot compete with ridiculous on-and-off retirements by Shahid Afridi, but in any case, the contest was really tight.
And now the way Muhammad Amir has announced his retirement, it seems to be more of an appeal for public sympathy. If, however, it had become impossible for him to improve his dealings with his former employer, the PCB, the announcement could have been made briefly and with dignity.
But Pakistani fast bowlers don’t like to hang their boots with grace. It is also a spectacle that most fast bowlers fall prey to the ego of their former heroes. First Shoaib Akhtar fell victim to the decisions of Waqar Younis and now Muhammad Amir too is upset with him.
Waqar Younis’ coaching career is filled with controversies. Mohammad Amir’s complaint is quite valid but it is also a fact that when ‘workload’ was having a toll on his body in the true sense of the word, then it was not Misbah and Waqar Younis but Mickey Arthur and Azhar Mahmood in-charge of the coaching setup. But Aamir has no qualms with Mickey Arthur, he likes to play in his coaching anytime, anywhere. Amir only has issues with current PCB management and its recruited coaching staff.
He still admires Najam Sethi. Interestingly, if one is remembering Najam Sethi and Mickey Arthur in the days of Ehsan Mani and Misbah, it is a message wrapped up somewhere that if they were in power today, he would not have been suffering this mental anguish.
Apart from Mickey Arthur and Najam Sethi, Mohammad Amir, whom he admires, is the same Shahid Afridi who carried the banner of ‘Business is closed till the appointment of Zaka Ashraf’ against Ijaz Butt and was successful in his struggle. If Mohammad Amir’s announcement is waiting for a similar ‘progress’, then a former fast bowler, Prime Minister and Patron-in-Chief of the PCB will be standing in his way.
There is no doubt that Mohammad Amir has been the most loved character in the recent history of Pakistan cricket. The immense adoration and sympathy he received from Pakistani public goes to only a few. This love and sympathy was so strong that he was brought back to the team contrary to the opinion of the entire dressing room.
But unfortunately after his return, Amir was no longer the same. In a recent interview with Usman Samiuddin in Cricinfo, Mohammad Amir himself admitted that his five-year absence left an impression on his mind as well as his body, but fans were hoping that he would be the same young teenage gun as he was back in 2010.
But he was not, we saw his steep fall and still were not willing to accept. After his return, Amir played most of his cricket under Sarfraz Ahmed and he too used him so much in this quest that Amir would somehow get his mojo back.
He did not want to give up even when he was tired. He wanted to quit Test cricket and make his mark in the short format. But from here a rift arose between him and the PCB. At one point, there was an attempt to fill the gap, but nothing happened.
If the PCB was angry at Mohammad Amir for quitting Test cricket, then that anger was by no means unreasonable. He was the PCB’s biggest investment in the last ten years. Despite the ban, the cricket board supported him in every way, at every forum.
PCB needs to investigate what the team did to him and how the management put him in a painful environment. If a former player targets someone based on their long-standing prejudices, then this behavior is by no means acceptable for the mental health of any dressing room.
Retirements are usually the moment when emotions run high and voices of tribute are heard from all corners. But unfortunately, the sudden retirement of Mohammad Amir has left many wounds. I don’t know when the wounds will heal, but at the moment the only grief that is being felt is that the one who had to break Wasim Akram’s record, broke his own heart.
Like most societies, Pakistan is overtly forgiving of its celebrities. One of the nation’s top-rated TV personalities is an evangelist who has shrugged off leaked videos confirming his hypocrisies. Many a cricketer has appeared with luxuriant beards or from hospital beds, radiating vulnerability and pleading for redemption. If Amir had wanted that, then despite all his shortcomings, he could have had it because Pakistani cricket fans will always forgive your sins, if you ‘just’ bowl fast.
But with Amir’s broken heart, the romantic love story of millions of cricket fans ended at the interval.
