While the Pakistan’s premier pacer Mohammad Amir took everyone by surprise as he announced his retirement from Test cricket at the age of 27 years, his coach Mickey Arthur has said that he was not surprised.
Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Arthur said that it was long cards and he knew Amir may take such decision.
“It was on the cards for a long while. Amir had been speaking to me about it with me for some time now. His Test career was taking a strain on his body. It’s not about management here. It’s about his desire to play Test cricket and the effects it has on his body,” Arthur was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
“I think Mohammad Amir’s an unbelievable bowler and reluctantly I accepted his decision because that’s what he wanted to do and that’s what he thought was best for himself. What it does do is give us a white-ball bowler that I think we can get a longer period from,” he added.
Amir had missed five years of international cricket as he was banned for five years for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010.
Arthur said that missing five years of International cricket took a toll on the cricketer as he was not equipped for managing the workload.
“He had five years out of the game, we mustn’t forget that. In those five years, he didn’t do anything. His body was not up to the rigours of day in, day out Test cricket. We pushed him as much as we could during England and South Africa series because he is such a good bowler whom we wanted during those tours. We’ve tried everything we possibly could with Amir,” Arthur said.
“He could have managed those five years better. He’d be the first one to acknowledge that. But I understand where he was in his whole life, so it was a tough period for him. I understand all that. I’ve got a very soft spot for Mohammad Amir. As a person and as a cricketer, I admire him greatly. Yes, I am disappointed he won’t be playing Test cricket for us. But it was made in the best interests of his white-ball cricket in mind,” he added.