Amir is top-class bowler, match-winner, says Mickey Arthur

LAHORE (92 News) – Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has termed fast bowler Mohammad Amir as the top-class bowler and a match-winner. In an interview on a YouTube cricket channel, the former coach said that leaving out fast bowler Mohammad Amir from the T20 World Cup squad would be detrimental to team’s title chances. “Amir spoke to me about it and he kept me in the loop on his decision. We discussed it many times. But maybe I was too hard on him playing him in every Test I could. I could see he was losing his hunger for Test cricket and his body was not able to handle the pressure of three formats,” Arthur said. “I wouldn’t imagine Pakistan going to the World T20 without Aamir. He is a match-winner. If you leave him out of the fray you potentially are sacrificing chances of winning the tournament,” Arthur, who remained Pakistan team’s head coach from May 2016 till the 2019 50-over World Cup, said. He also didn’t agree that Amir and fellow left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz had let down the team by retiring from red ball cricket in haste. “Amir is a top-class bowler and a match-winner. I love to watch him bowl. But by deciding to leave Test cricket I think he has given himself a chance of extending his white ball career.” About Wahab, Arthur said the experienced bowler had also taken the right decision.