Door open for Mohammad Amir to come out of international retirement: PCB chairman Sethi

Sethi has also given permission to Amir to train at the High Performance Centre in Lahore, a venue where he was persona non grata during the 14-month tenure of Ramiz Raja.

FILE PHOTO: Amir had congratulated Sethi as soon as he replaced Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman and said the right person had taken over the affairs of the cricket board. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has opened the door for left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir to come out of international retirement and play for the country again.

Sethi, who replaced Ramiz Raja as the PCB chief, said in an interview that the Board would have no objection if Amir wanted to come out of retirement.

“Amir has been a very good performer for Pakistan and we have no problems if he wants to make himself available for selection again,” he added.

Amir was banned for five years for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010.

Sethi has also given permission to Amir to train at the High Performance Centre in Lahore, a venue where he was persona non grata during the 14-month tenure of Raja after his fallout with former coaches Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis and eventually retired from international cricket in December 2020.

Sethi said that he thought differently from Raja as far as players who have served bans are concerned.

“My thinking is that once a player has completed his ban, he deserves a second chance like everyone else,” he said.

Sethi was in the cricket board and played a key role in fast-tracking Amir back into the national team in early 2016 after he had completed his five-year ban.

Amir had a public fallout with Misbah and Waqar and also didn’t see eye to eye with the chairman and CEO of the PCB in 2020, Ehsan Mani and Wasim Khan.

Raja recently lashed out at Amir for his critical tweets about Pakistan cricket and said he would never have allowed him to play for Pakistan again.

Since Sethi took over and appointed Shahid Afridi as interim chief selector, batter Sharjeel Khan has been named in the list of probables for the upcoming one-day series at home against New Zealand.

Sharjeel also served a ban and was handed a fine for his involvement in spot fixing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but has been given a second chance.

Amir had congratulated Sethi as soon as he replaced Raja as PCB chairman and said the right person had taken over the affairs of the cricket board.

Amir told the media that he has not yet decided when to come out of retirement but sources close to him said the pacer only wants to play in white-ball formats for Pakistan and will not take back his decision to retire from Test cricket.

A source also confirmed that former head coach Mickey Arthur is also expected to confirm his availability for the Pakistan team by next week.