Pakistan Cricket Board saw a series of administrative changes last month, with Ramiz Raja being sacked as the chairman and Najam Sethi heading a 14-member managing committee. Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi was also named the interim chief selector with fellow ex-cricketers Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum joining him in the panel. Following the change in regime, the Sethi-led PCB took a series of major decisions including the scrapping of the Pakistan Junior League (PJL), Ramiz’s brainchild.
It also seems one of Pakistan’s leading pacers, who had been shunned away into international retirement under Ramiz, might make his comeback under Sethi. Mohammad Amir, who had last played for Pakistan in 2020, has given hints of a return to the national team after he was allowed to practice at the National High Performance Centre (NHPC). Amir had been away from the team under Ramiz as the latter, on many occasions, has remained vocal over his intolerance on match-fixing charges.
In 2010, Amir and two other Pakistan stars (Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif) were imposed bans on spot-fixing charges during the tour to England. Amir made a return to international cricket in 2016 after completing his punishment. The pacer had eventually played a key role in Pakistan’s win in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
During a public event, Ramiz Raja, who doesn’t hold a position in PCB anymore, reiterated his opposition to the possibility of Amir making a Pakistan comeback.
“Youth needs to understand that you can’t love those who were involved in fixing. I feel this on a personal level because unfortunately, I played in that era of cricket where 9 players were trying to win the game and two weren’t. When it happens with you, it becomes difficult,” Ramiz said in an event at the Government College University in Lahore.
“In my book, I never had respect for such people and I never will,” said the former Pakistan captain further.
