‘Not a right call’: Afridi on Amir’s retirement; questions Waqar Younis

Pakistan’s former captain Shahid Afridi has said that pacer Mohammad Amir’s decision to retire from international cricket was beyond his understanding.

The 28-year-old, in a shocking announcement on Thursday, said that he cannot continue to play for the national team under the current management.

The all-rounder, while speaking to media in Pakistan, said that the left-arm pacer did not take the right decision.

“I don’t understand why he made this decision,” said Afridi. “When I came to know about it, I talked to Amir and told him that I personally don’t think this is the right call.”

The Multan Sultans all-rounder further went on to question the Pakistan Cricket Board’s dealing with senior players.

“If Waqar was sincere with Amir and wanted to treat him equally like others, he should have called him and discuss the matter. This did not happen and Amir made the decision which I think is wrong.”

The Karachi Kings’ pacer was dropped from Pakistan’s limited-overs squad for the home series against Zimbabwe.

He was later left out of the 35-member squad of the Green Caps for the upcoming tour of New Zealand as well where the head coach stated that the team management is eager to select players who are available across all formats.

Inzamam also echoed Afridi’s views on the Mohammad Amir retirement news. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Inzamam said that  Amir got too emotional and people close to him should advise him that people often regret taking hasty decisions during an emotional phase. Inzamam further said that if Amir was not comfortable with the team management or Waqar Younis, he could have talked to Misbah, who is the head of team management at the moment.

Inzamam opined that Amir could have also approached PCB if he didn’t get a response from Misbah. According to Inzamam, Amir should have a belief in his abilities to make a comeback and serve Pakistan for more years.

Mohammad Amir stats

Mohammad Amir’s stats in his short international career are quite impressive. Amir has represented Pakistan in 36 Tests where he picked up 119 scalps in his 10-year Test career from 2009-2019. The left-arm pacer has also represented the Men In Green in 61 One Day Internationals and 48 T20Is where he has picked up 81 and 59 wickets respectively.