Shahid Afridi welcomes Mohammad Amir’s comeback to Pakistan ODI squad

Aamir, who served a five-year ban and jail time for indulging in spot-fixing during the 2010 tour of England, was expected to make the squad after being brought back into the national camp despite some resentment by fellow players.

Pace bowler Amir, 23, won his first global selection on Saturday since completing a five-year ban for spot-fixing.

“He was a very young man at the time and he’s gone through a sound rehabilitation program”.

He said Amir was in good form and could inject a new energy in the bowling line up after ICC suspended Yasir Shah over doping issue. He said: “I have toured New Zealand before and know they love the game and they are so caring and loving, so I don’t expect anything untoward from them”.

Another Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul also staged a comeback in the national team after gaining full fitness and performing well on the domestic circuit.

Amir has a top score of 73 against New Zealand in ODIs, and has a couple of fifties in first-class cricket as well.

“We should all back Muhammad Amir”, said Waqar while talking to the media at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

He lauded the efforts of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in persuading Azhar and Hafeez to play with him.

Haroon Rasheed, the PCB chief selector said that Amir has been selected only after his clearance as per PCB’s policy making.

Mohammad Hafeez has made his displeasure known, while ODI captain Azhar Ali tried to quit as skipper in protest, but was not allowed to.

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

Expressing his gratitude towards the Pakistan Cricket Board for giving him a second chance, Amir admitted that he had learnt a lot from his mistakes and vowed that he would never let the cricketing family down again.