Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir never played in the IPL but he certainly can! The 28 year old, who has called it quits as far as his international career is concerned, has applied for a British citizenship. If he gets that, he is no longer a Pakistani and can play for any franchise according to the rules. Thanks to the current political climate, IPL doesn’t see participation of any Pakistani cricketers. Earlier Azhar Mahmood too played a season of IPL despite his compatriots not being present.
“At the moment I’ve been granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. I’m enjoying my cricket these days and plan to play for another 6 or 7 years so let’s see how things go,” Amir told Pakpassion.net. Mohammad Amir’s wife and a young child are already in Britain and the young family is looking forward to a new life in a new country.
“My children will grow up in England and receive their education there so no doubt I will be spending a fair amount of time there,” he further replied. ”At the moment, I’ve not really thought about the other possibilities and opportunities available and how things will turn out when I receive British citizenship in the future,” Amir further added.
Earlier he cited the lack of respect from the team management as the major reason for his early exit from international cricket. He added that it was a tough call to stop playing cricket for Pakistan but was left with no other option.
“Retiring from playing for your beloved country isn’t an easy step to take. I thought a lot about this decision, I spoke to those close to me and only then did I reach this decision. If I go into all of the details and re-open all those chapters then it will get very ugly. I hope that our players, especially the youngsters in future don’t have to face what I had to face as I don’t want our younger players to get disheartened and have to sacrifice their careers like I did,” said Amir.
