Mohammad Amir incident will have negative impact on Pakistan Cricket Team: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Karachi, December 25: Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq believes that the recent Mohammad Amir retirement controversy will have a negative impact on the country's cricket.

The left-arm pacer recently retired from international cricket due to his differences with team management comprising chief coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis.

"It is not about what impact Amir's decision will have on our bowling resources or strength because life moves on. But what bothers me more is the negative impact such incidents have on our cricket and its image," Inzamam told the media in Lahore on Thursday (December 24).

Mohammad Amir retires from cricket

The batting great felt that the Amir incident didn't reflect well on Pakistan cricket.

"It is better if such situations don't take place.' At the same time, Inzamam felt that Amir should have used all his options before taking such a drastic step. "If he is unhappy with one or two persons in the team management he should have first spoken openly with the head coach, Misbah-ul-Haq and if required even the Pakistan Cricket Board officials before deciding on what to do."

Inzamam agreed that he has had issues with Waqar and it needs to be sorted. "He appears to have issues with Waqar (Younis bowling coach) and if his grievances were not listened to then he should have adopted this route."

In a video, prior to his official announcement to retire from cricket at the age of 28, Amir said: "To be honest, I don't think I can play cricket under this management, I am leaving cricket, for now, I am being mentally tortured, I cannot handle it, I have seen it enough from 2010-2015. I have to repeatedly hear that PCB invested a lot in me, I am thankful to Shahid Afridi as he gave me chances when I came back after the ban."

"Everyone wants to play for their country, they just keep saying that I left Test cricket for other leagues around the world, I made the comeback through BPL, if I was dying for leagues then I could have said I don't want to play for Pakistan. Every month there is someone who is saying Amir ditched us, in two days I will reach Pakistan and then I will release a statement," he added.

The Pakistan pacer played 36 Tests, 61 ODIs, and 50 ODIs. Amir went on to take 259 wickets across three formats of the game. Amir had played his first international match during the 2009 T20 World Cup and he was a part of the T20 World Cup-winning Pakistan squad.