Mohammad Amir justifies selection; gives Pakistan hope for a turnaround
Mohammad Amir justified his selection in the Pakistan team for the ongoing ICC 2019 World Cup by returning with figures of 3 wickets for 26 runs against West Indies on Friday at Trent Bridge even as the Caribbean team won by 7 wickets.
The left arm pacer who dismissed the half-centurion Chris Gayle in the match was not included in the provisional squad of Pakistan owing to his poor run of form in the run-up to the mega event.
The sub-continental team which won the title in 1992 could not have started their campaign in this year's edition of the tournament on a more disastrous note. Pakistan got bundled out for a paltry 105 runs, which is the second lowest score by Pakistan in World Cups.
Served an ultimatum to perform
Ironically, he was not included in the 15-man provisional squad announced for the World Cup. "When your main strike bowler is not taking wickets regularly obviously it causes concern to the captain," Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed had told the media.
Ahmed was not at all off the mark as the left arm pacer picked up just 5 wickets in 14 matches prior to the World Cup. However, he was roped in the team as a reserve player for a limited overs series against England just before the start of the World Cup.
In fact, the Pakistani think tank had given an ultimatum to Amir that if he could perform well against England in the limited overs series than he might still make the cut for the final squad. Incidentally, he contracted a viral infection and did not play a match.
A dismal show against England and selectors fall back on experience
Yet, the Pakistani selectors decided to retain Amir for the squad. The fact that the Pakistani bowlers put up a dismal show against English batsmen in the series just days before the real test began made them rethink and bank on the experience of Amir at the highest level.
He was a doubtful starter for his team's tournament opener for the but he eventually played. The speedster reposed the faith but the Pakistani batsmen were listless, to say the least, against the Windies bowling attack.
In any case a total of 105 was too little for the bowlers to make a match out of it. But Amir did manage to impress.
Rose to the occasion
Amir was a bit slower than he usually bowls and it helped him to extract a lot out of the track. He first got the wicket of Shai Hope in the fifth over. The left armer than enticed the talented Darren Bravo for an outside edge for nought before getting rid of big fish Gayle.
The destructive Windies opener looked in sparkling touch and showed little respect to the other Pakistan bowlers while against Amir he was a little circumspect. Gayle perished while trying to launch himself into an Amir delivery after reaching his fifty.
The speedster certainly gave a glimer of hope for the Pakistan side to hold on to stage a comeback in the next game.
Can they bounce back again?
"We definitely bowled well. It was good to have Mohammed Amir back in form, we know what he is capable of and it will be good for us in the coming matches," said Sarfraz Ahmed in the post match press briefing.
Pakistan back in the 1992 World Cup, which was played in the same format as this year, had won only one match out of the first five matches it played. But the Imran Khan led side staged a comeback from there and went on to win the coveted trophy.
The Sarfraz Ahmed side can definitely draw inspiration from that feat. It will be however easier said than done.