Taunted by spectators: Hafeez comes to Amir’s rescue

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who made his comeback to international cricket after a five-year ban, was taunted by a section of crowd during Pakistan’s first ODI with New Zealand in Wellington on Monday.
As Amir returned to his fielding position on the boundary, an individual from the same section of the stands began waving currency notes. “The incident has left the 23-year-old disturbed,” sources in the team said.
As all this was going on, former captain Mohammad Hafeez stepped in to the young fast bowler’s rescue.
Hafeez and the other players reported it to the Pakistan team’s security in-charge and the ground staff was requested to intervene. The Basin Reserve’s security proceeded to the stand and issued a sound warning to that individual.
After the match ended, sources said that the person in question was told to ‘behave’ or face ejection from the stadium.
Hafeez and one-day international skipper Azhar Ali were strictly against Amir’s return to Pakistan colours. They went as far as boycotting a national training camp because of the left-arm pacer’s presence.
But Hafeez in particularly had taken an extremely harsh stance on the issue. He had reportedly turned down an offer from a Bangladesh Premier League franchise having Amir in their lineup, and refused to face the young fast bowler during one of the nets session at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Hafeez had always maintained that “it is about the image of Pakistan cricket”.
Today in Wellington, donning Pakistan colours, seeing his teammate being sledged at, Hafeez lived up to his words.
In a separate development, a bunch of reporters in Lahore posed a tricky question to PCB supremo Shaharyar Khan after Amir bowled a wide off his first delivery back in ODIs.
Khan, who took over the board’s chairmanship in August 2014, was quick in rubbishing their suspicions.
“A wide and a no-ball in cricket is as natural as winning and losing. I am satisfied with Amir’s performance,” he said.