Mohammed Amir has shocked Indian fans by claiming that he found Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma easy to bowl at.
The Pakistan left-arm paceman said he was confident of getting both out when he played against them, although Kohli proved a tougher prospect than the destructive opener.
The 29-year-old dismissed both in a stunning opening spell at the Oval in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, but failed to get Sharma in five more ODIs against him. He removed the Indian captain one more time in a total of five games against him, while in both his T20Is against India he captured Sharma’s wicket but failed to prise out Kohli.
“I haven’t found it tough bowling to either,” he said in an exclusive interview with Cricwick. “In fact, I find it easy to bowl to him [Rohit Sharma]. I feel that I can get him out both ways. He struggles against the inswinger from a left armer, as well as against the ball that goes away early on.
“I may say that I find bowling to Virat slightly tougher because he revels in pressure situations, but otherwise I’ve never found it difficult bowling to either of the two.”
Amir no longer has to back up his claims, having retired from international cricket in December last year after falling out with the current management team but he also said reports that he would represent another international side – perhaps England because his wife has UK residency rights – were wide of the mark.
He said: “Nothing of this kind is happening. I have a UK residence card as my wife is from there. If you look at players in the past, so many of them had a UK passport. I don’t understand why are people getting obsessed with me getting a UK passport. Even if I get a passport from UK, it is my right as my wife is from there, my kids are British and they will study there.”
The bowler has endured a topsy-turvy career – the downside, which includes his jailing for his part in the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, often of his own making. However, he hinted, that a return to the international arena wasn’t completely out of the question. “I had said that I wouldn’t play under the current management. I had also said that if things get better then I will consider being available,” he said.
