I don't have a magic wand to meet expectations on the pitch, says Mohammad Amir
Pakistan speedster Mohammad Amir admitted that International cricket is tough and one cannot be expected to deliver (referring to his comeback after 5 years) right from the get go. The Pakistan pacer also said that he does not possess a ‘magic wand’ to help him perform miraculously every time he takes the run-up.
Pakistan recently returned home after a long tour of England, which was a bit of a hit and miss. The left-armed pacer returned to international cricket after serving a 5-year ban owing to the infamous spot-fixing saga he was involved in along with teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif back in 2010.
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In a recent interview with ‘The News’ in England, Aamir informed that he still needs a lot of time to perform as per his potential, being out of top-level cricket for such a long time. He said, "Whenever I play, there are a lot of expectations. But the thing is I don't have a magic wand. This is international cricket and you cannot deliver in a day
"I have come back to this level of cricket after six years. I know I have to work hard. It will take time. Even when I first started playing international cricket it took me a year before everyone started noticing me.”
Pakistan played exceptionally well in the Test series against England and shared honours after in ended 2-2, mainly due to influential performances from Yasir Shah, Younis Khan and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. But they failed to carry on their form in the 50-over format and were thrashed 1-4 by the hosts. Aamir’s performance in the tour was pretty ordinary having picked up only 12 wickets in the four Tests played while taking just four in as many matches played in the ODI series.
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Amir played his first Test after his ban at Lord’s, the same venue where it all began around 6 years prior to that. This fact indeed added extra pressure onto the bowler and has even faced criticism from various cricketers around the world. The 24-year old expressed that he is quite relieved as to how the series went.
He said, "The best thing is that this series (in England) was my biggest pressure tour. It went smoothly and that has added to my confidence. I am sure my performance will be better in New Zealand and Australia as I have done well against them in the past. Personally, I have this feeling that I am getting better with every match.”