Amir's retirement was predictable: Arthur
ICC
|| Desk Report ||
Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur said, Mohammad Amir's retirement from the Test cricket was on the cards as Amir's body wasn't taking the load of the Test cricket. At the age of 27, the Pakistani pacer decided to end his red ball cricketing career to concentrate on the white-ball cricket. Arthur said, Amir's retirement had to happen and Amir talked with him regarding this matter before.
"It was on the cards for a long while. Amir had been speaking to me about it with me for some time now. His Test career was taking a strain on his body. It's not about management here. It's about his desire to play Test cricket and the effects it has on his body," Arthur said on ESPN Cricinfo.
Arthur has accepted the decision of Amir to get longer service from in the white-ball cricket. As the T20 World Cup of 2020 is approaching, Amir's contribution to the Pakistan team will be really important in the pace friendly wickets of Australia.
"I think Amir's an unbelievable bowler and reluctantly I accepted his decision because that's what he wanted to do and that's what he thought was best for himself. What it does do is give us a white-ball bowler that I think we can get a longer period from," he added.
Amir had an eventful Test career for Pakistan. He took 119 wickets in 36 Tests with an average of 30.47. But Amir's Test career is more renowned for the infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010 in England. For that incident, Amir was barred from international cricket for five years. Arthur believes that incident also a part to play in Amir's retirement from Test cricket. Staying ideal for five years had a toll on Amir's body, Arthur believes.
"He had five years out of the game, we mustn't forget that. In those five years, he didn't do anything. His body was not up to the rigours of day in, day out Test cricket. We pushed him as much as we could during England and South Africa series because he is such a good bowler whom we wanted during those tours. We've tried everything we possibly could with Amir," Arthur concluded.
