The New Zealand-Pakistan series features the return of convicted Pakistani spot-fixer Mohammad Amir’s return to international cricket after a five-year ban from the game.
However, the New Zealanders, fresh from a 2-0 T20 series win over Sri Lanka, maintained that the induction of Amir into the Pakistan team was not an issue.
“That is not something that worries us,” all-rounder Grant Elliott said. “All we are concerned about is how good someone is on the cricket field.
“What I do know about Mohammad Amir is I played him in 2009 in the Test series and he was a very quick bowler then. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from what has happened.
“As a cricketer, you need to focus on what is in front of you whether you are bowling or batting; without that mentality it is very difficult to perform under pressure.”
Elliott, whose epic six off South Africa’s Dale Steyn took New Zealand to their first ever World Cup final, has been mulling over retirement since September last year.
The 36-year-old Elliott will assess what would be the right time to call it a day at the end of World T20 in India.
Yesterday, New Zealand bowling coach Dimitri Mascarenhas also praised Amir’s ability as a bowler and said that it’s the only factor about the left-armer that concerns his team.
“We know that Amir’s a very good bowler and he’s another guy we’re going to have to deal with. It’s pretty much as simple as that for us,” Mascarenhas was quoted.
Mascarenhas believed that since Amir has completed his punishment, he deserves to be back into the cricketing fold.
“He’s done his time and been cleared to play,” said the former England all-rounder. “So we’ll just get on with it and play against him.”
The 23-year-old was considered one of the most exciting fast bowlers in the world before the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that resulted in bans and jail sentences for him, former Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif.
The trio were cleared to return to the sport by the International Cricket Council in September last year after serving suspensions.