"Mohammad Amir should have realised that papa Mickey Arthur will not always be there to safeguard him"- Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Amir has often been vocal about not receiving enough backing from Pakistan's team management during his playing days.
Shoaib Akhtar recently called out the left-arm fast bowler for having such an attitude and talked about how Mickey Arthur protected him when he was the coach of the Pakistan national team.
Shoaib Akhtar urged Mohammad Amir to grow up and learn from Mohammad Hafeez, who, despite having differences with team management, went on to carve a long international career.
"Sometimes you have good days and sometimes you have bad days. Amir should have realised that papa Mickey Arthur will not always be there to safeguard him. Sometimes you have to grow up. I am saying this for Amir. Sometimes you have to grow up. You don’t let it go but you mature enough to realise that the management is not according to my wishes, now I have to raise my performance and level of hard work. The management was also against Hafeez. What did Hafeez do that was different? He just made runs and nothing else. He didn’t give the management an envelope full of cash. Amir should have learned from Hafeez,” Akhtar said while speaking on PTV Sports.
Mohammad Amir retired from international cricket in December last year and said he could not play under the current team management.
The pacer continues to play franchise cricket and will be in action soon during the second phase of PSL 2021, which resumes next month.
"Never doubt those players who have won games for you in the past" - Mohammad Amir
Recently, Mohammad Amir was once again vocal about the mishandling of talent by the Pakistan team. The 29-year-old suggested match-winners like him should be backed consistently even after a dip in performances.
"Never doubt those players who have won games for you in the past. Never doubt their ability due to statistics. Rather than focusing too much on statistics, you must see whether the player has the ability to win games for Pakistan from difficult situations. When a player is in a bad phase, that is when the team management and fans need to back him the most," Mohammad Amir said in an interview with Crickwick.
Mohammad Amir's side Karachi Kings lead the standings in the PSL with three wins out of five games. The fast bowler has played in all five games for his side, picking up four wickets while conceding runs at an economy of 7.75.