Embattled pace star Mohammad Amir continued his rich vein of form in the Bangladesh Premier League with another dazzling performance in the Chittagong Vikings versus Dhaka Dynamites encounter on Tuesday.
Amir picked up 3/18 from his four overs in the match, but the most riveting moment in the clash came when former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez faced upto the left-armer.
After dismissing Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi earlier in the tournament, Amir came out on top yet again as Hafeez failed to capitalise on an opportunity to score some runs and according to some witty fans on Twitter, the ‘Professor’ did not even want to be on the same pitch as the 23-year-old ‘spot-fixing tainted pacer’.
Amir steamed in and a sharp out-swinging delivery forced an outside edge off Hafeez’s bat straight into the gloves of wicketkeeper Anamul Hoque. It followed three deliveries which beat the batsman all ends up. Hafeez’s figures stood at 1(5).
Amir had debuted for Chittagong Vikings with a bang in his first-ever BPL game on Nov 22, returning match figures of 4 for 30 in four overs, his scalps including that of a rampaging Misbah-ul-Haq (61).
Hafeez, who is said to be among a group of players in the Pakistan side who are strongly opposed to allowing the spot-fixing trio to play for the national team again, found himself in an awkward position after losing his wicket to Amir in what can be termed as a very soft dismissal.
The Chittagong Vikings match with Dhaka Dynamites was much anticipated as earlier Hafeez had reportedly turned down an offer to play alongside Amir’s team in BPL, saying that he could not “share a dressing room with a player who tarnished the image of Pakistan”.
However Hafeez, who was overlooked by all five BPL teams during the initial draft, made a late entry in the tournament after signing for Dhaka Dynamites two days ago. The former Pakistan captain’s limited-overs form was inconsistent during recently-concluded series against England in the United Arab Emirates and the ‘Professor’ is hoping his BPL stint can get him back into rhythm.