Muhammad Hammad
With Mohammad Aamer set to reintegrate back to international circuit after 5 lifeless years, let’s have a look that how 2016 could be a good one rather a lucky one for him in terms of statistics and match conditions. For the first time since the dark summer of 2010 will Aamer be wearing the Green Shirt, most probably on the 15th of January, 2016, and all cricketing eyes will be on him till he finishes, if given, his 4 overs quota.
With Mohammad Aamer set to reintegrate back to international circuit after 5 lifeless years, let’s have a look that how 2016 could be a good one rather a lucky one for him in terms of statistics and match conditions. For the first time since the dark summer of 2010 will Aamer be wearing the Green Shirt, most probably on the 15th of January, 2016, and all cricketing eyes will be on him till he finishes, if given, his 4 overs quota.
Aamer now 23, then 18, had featured in 14 Tests, 15 ODIs and 18 T20Is before being ousted from official cricket. Okay so he did commit a crime and got punished, both behind the bars and off the field. 2010-2015 the years his ban spanned, were actually the finest years to serve his ban. Yeah absolutely, these years were absolutely the finest for a person like Aamer or even Asif to serve their bans. He had to serve a ban, after all, after that no-ball and was lucky his ban was active during those years Pak played a huge bulk of cricket in the deserts of UAE (Pak played only 7 Tests outside Asia and Zimbabwe).
It is quite clear that Pakistan aren’t in the welcome list of Australia and England, and do get to tour these countries for a bilateral series roughly after 5 to 6 years. So Aamer was hugely lucky to have played in that era when Pakistan were touring these countries. Add New Zealand too.
Out of his 14 Tests, Aamer played 11 Tests combined in NZ, Aus and England. 45 of his 51 wickets came there. What else could an 18-year old long for! He debuted vs Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka, dismissed Kumar Sangakkara twice, Jayawardene and Dilshan once, and returned with more-than-decent match figures of 6 for 112. But as do most pacers find their luck in the subcontinent more than often, he returned wicket-less in the next 2 matches.
The story really started afterwards, when Pakistan landed first in New Zealand, then Australia and England. Barring his Test stats, add his phenomenal performances in 2009 and 2010 ICC World T20s, where first he outthought tournament’s top scorer Dilshan with a series of length and short deliveries, and in 2010, bowled a unique and only till date 5-wicket maiden over (including 2 runouts) versus the to-be finalists Australia. He bowled decently in ODIs too, with Sachin Tendulkar being amongst his finest wickets.
30 wickets at 19.8 in 6 Tests in England (2 vs Aus, 4 vs Eng) show the real quality of 2010’s Aamer. Pitches in England do tend to favour pacers, and dibbly dobbly wibbly wobbly medium pacers too. And these wickets actually made Aamer a star or rather a superstar back home, with Imran Khan also rating him higher than Wasim Akram at 18, and Akram himself rating him in higher ranks too!
Now with Pakistan scheduled to tour England for a full series in the mid of 2016, and then Australia at the end of the year, after 6 years, Aamer will consider himself the luckiest person on the planet on getting a chance to have a shot again, especially in England.
Even though he has got himself back into the Pakistan squad, one big sword still hangs near his throat, the visa one. As he was deported from England, and as per English rules, no criminal can get a visa again after being deported, so it will be interesting to see how Pakistan faces this hurdle, and if they win the case, the best moment of the year then definitely will be young Aamer, running hard at Lord’s, bowling fast and furious, swinging in and out Alastair Cook and Co. with his long hair changing its direction every now and then with the ever present wind there, and celebrating the wickets in his very own style!
We all look forward to seeing him back in action, wearing green shirt, redeeming himself by bowling as good as he can. If he is able to get some of his rhythm he had in 2010 back, he surely will feature in the 9 o’clock headlines for some good reasons at least since his last five-wicket haul at Lord’s, the youngest of the bowlers to do so!
Adieus…!!
ABOUT THE WRITER
The writer is a freshman in Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore and follows cricket very keenly, with a hawk eye…!!
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