In the wake of Australia tormenting a young and promising Pakistani bowling unit in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship, former Pakistan great Wasim Akram has launched a scathing attack on retired Test pacer Mohammad Amir. In the aftermath of formidable Australian batting side taking the Pakistani bowlers to the cleaners in the first innings of the ongoing Test match between the two sides at The Gabba in Brisbane, Akram has slammed Amir’s decision of taking premature retirement from the longest format of the game.
Despite putting up a show in the dress rehearsals of the Test series Down Under, the Pakistani pace trio faced the wrath of the Australian batsmen on Day 2 of the first Test between the two sides. The Day 2 was curtained by Aussie southpaw David Warner who remained unbeaten at 151 off 265 balls. Marnus Labuschagne played a perfect role of second fiddle to the explosive left-handed batsmen with a crucial innings of 55 off 94 balls.
“What really happened was that two of our premium bowlers [Amir, Wahab] just retired from Test cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the whole country invested five years in Amir,” said Wasim. The former Pakistan skipper feels Amir should’ve represented the visitors in the ongoing series before calling it quits with the oldest format which is seeking revival.
“He’s 27 and should have come here and played a Test series and then maybe next year retired. That’s the problem Pakistan had,” Akram said. The legendary Pakistan seamer then went on to add that if he was the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), then he wouldn’t have handed a supreme contract to Amir. “If I was the PCB, I wouldn’t have given him a central contract because he retired a month ago,” Akram added.
