Support staff associated with the Pakistan side should have helped him - Aamir Sohail reacts to Mohammad Amir's retirement
Aamir Sohail has lashed out at the Pakistan cricket team backroom staff after Mohammad Amir retired from international cricket. Sohail said that the coach's job was to encourage the players and also understand their issues.
Aamir Sohail is a former Pakistani cricketer-turned-commentator. He represented the Pakistan cricket team in 47 Test matches and 156 ODIs. Recently, 28-year-old fast bowler, Mohammad Amir quit international cricket, saying the team management 'tortured' him.
In his recent blog for PakPassion.Net, Sohail spoke at length about Mohammad Amir's retirement and the coaches' role. He highlighted that the team management should not drop a player instantly after his poor performance. But they should try to work on his weak points and offer him an opportunity to bounce back.
"In Amir’s case, the support staff associated with the Pakistan side should have jumped in to help him if he was having any problems and was not delivering to expectations – what else is the support staff there to do? Coaches should be there to help fix player's problems, not to just say 'shabash' and clap. Having coaches to just say 'shabash' and other words of encouragement defeats the purpose of specialized help," wrote Aamir.
Mohammad Amir's decision to walk away should not be a surprise: Aamir Sohail
Mohammad Amir was one of the most talented pacers in the Pakistani line-up. The left-arm fast bowler played a vital role in his country's ICC Champions Trophy 2017 triumph. Unfortunately, he hung up his boots because the selectors dropped him from the squad when he asked for rest.
Giving his views on Amir's retirement, Aamir Sohail said that a "confrontational setup" is the very reason why players are feeling disillusioned with the team management.
"Instead of an atmosphere of unity and harmony in the side, we have a confrontational setup which is probably the cause of players feeling disillusioned with the team management, so in that sense Amir’s decision to walk away from playing for Pakistan should not really be a surprise to anyone."