Mohammad Amir included in Pakistan squad for New Zealand tour

Disgraced Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has expressed that he is elated after being named in the limited-overs squad for the upcoming New Zealand series, insisting that he will never let his country down again.

New Zealand Cricket boss David White is relaxed about the inclusion of convicted spot-fixer Mohammad Amir in the Pakistan squad to tour in January.

Pakistan will play three T20Is and three ODIs in New Zealand, starting on January 15.

Amir was famously banned for five years and served a prison sentence for his role in the 2010 spot fixing scandal alongside Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif.

His ban, imposed by the ICC, has already ended and McCullum said he should be allowed to resume his career.

“I respect Azhar and Hafeez’a stance”.

Reflecting on Amir’s inclusion in the national squad, the 53-year-old insisted that the Pakistan team should be provided with some time to accept his return.

Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali on Tuesday tendered his resignation over presence of tainted paceman Mohammed Aamir in the national training camp but agreed to continue after PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan’s intervention. What he did has definitely damaged Pakistan’s reputation as a cricket team, and it was totally not in the mentality that cricket is played in.

Meanwhile, former batsman Ejaz Ahmad also lauded the performance of Amir in BPL and domestic saying that some players of other teams had also returned to their teams after completing respective bans. “The board is trying to bully everyone who is against Amir’s comeback”, a senior Pakistan player told Sport360 under anonymity. Reports last week said Amir had offered to leave the squad in a tearful appeal for forgiveness, which was eventually accepted.

Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali (captain), Muhammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Amir.