Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akthar on Tuesday said he was eager to take youngster Mohammad Amir under his wing and guide him back to the national team following his return to cricket after a five-year ban.
Amir, 23, was suspended along with then-captain Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Asif for bowling no-balls to order as part of a complex betting scam exposed by a tabloid sting during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) lifted all sanctions on the trio earlier this month, making them eligible for domestic and international matches.
Akhtar, the fastest bowler in history, said he was looking to buy a team in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament that will be staged in Qatar in February, and wanted to recruit Amir.
“I am planning to buy a team in the PSL and would like to have Amir in my team so that I can guide him and make him an effective bowler,” Akhtar, who retired in 2011, said.
Now 40, Akhtar’s career briefly overlapped with Amir, who made his debut in 2009 aged 17.
The pair shared the attack in two one-day internationals in the 2010 Asia Cup and two Twenty20s against Australia in England the same year, before Amir’s career crashed to a halt following the ban.
“Everyone knows how talented Amir was when he played cricket so on his return he will have to work hard to become the same bowler,” said Akhtar.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has devised a rehabilitation programme for all three players, with Amir already playing grade cricket since April this year under a special dispensation by the ICC.
He picked up seven wickets in his last match, a non first-class qualifier for the Sui Southern Gas Company, with a cunning mix of inswingers, outswingers, bouncers and varied angles from over and around the wicket.
While some influential voices, including ex-captain-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja, have voiced their opposition to the spot-fixing trio ever being allowed to represent their country again, Akhtar said it was right for them to get a second chance.
“I have seen them suffer in the last five years so all three must be treated in the same manner,” said the former player, whose own career was dogged by controversy including a drug scandal, an infamous dressing room fight and frequent claims of insubordination.
“Imagine Pakistan’s attack with Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Shahid Afridi and Yasir Shah and if they play together we can win the next World Twenty20,” he added.
OWNING PSL TEAM:
Earlier, Akhtar met the PSL head Najam Sethi on Monday afternoon and later explained his intentions to the media.
“Everyone is excited about PSL and so am I,” Akhtar said. “It’s like a gift to the nation; it’s not [just] the brand of PCB, it’s the brand of Pakistan. I am interested in buying a team in the league and want to serve Pakistan cricket this way by promoting cricketers and making more Shoaib Akhtars who can bowl at 100 (mph). My business partner and I are testing the waters; assessing whatever is put on table and how it suits us.”
Akhtar has in the past been a vocal critic of the PCB on matters regarding selection and the structure of domestic cricket in Pakistan. His meeting with Sethi has been viewed as a bid to make amends, but Akhtar brushed aside notions that his visit had been to take a PCB job.
“There are more ways to serve Pakistan cricket than taking a job at the PCB. You all know what kind of person I am. I might be critical at some point but my intentions are always positive and I want things to be right. By buying a team, I can offer the talented boys in my team a platform. [I can] make an academy and recruit the best possible talent in my team
“I might be very critical of the board on many things but I only want Pakistan to win. There is a lot of talent in our country but they need guidance. The PSL is a good initiative and we should support it. This is the product that can help us revive cricket in Pakistan.”