Mohammad Amir, Does a Spot-Fixer Have a Place in Sport?

Do you think Mohammad Amir was lured by money? Think again.

So, Mohammad Amir is back!

He is up and running with the Pakistan team and guess what? His national side has forgiven him for tainting their country’s image.

Of course he fought some backlash from Mohammad Hafeez and Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali, who refused to practice with the spot-fixer but a few tears managed to melt both the players, and thus the fairytale comeback for Amir has come about.

It’s now only a matter of time until we see the talented paceman, who took 19 test wickets against England back in 2010, once again performing at the highest level for Pakistan.

The men in green will be travelling to New Zealand in January for three T20s and ODIs each.

The Quint can picture Amir running in fast, bowling those perfect out-swingers like he used to, hitting the top of off-stump, getting the edge of the bat every now and then and much more.

How amazing will that be for world cricket?

But wait a minute! What if he bowls a no-ball? Will we believe that it is a genuine one?

As the famous saying goes, once a thief always a thief. Can we ever be sure of Amir?

Sure, he was just eighteen years old when he got into the mess of bowling no-balls for money. Sure he comes from a poor background. But does this justify his doings? How do we know he really has changed?

And if he could be given a chance, then why couldn’t the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Hansie Cronje, Danish Kaneria, S Sreesanth and other players be rehabilitated?

Cronje died in a plane crash, but here is Amir, looking at a glorious time in international cricket. Why the double standards?

In the words of Imran Khan, “At 18 you’re old enough to know right from wrong.”

Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja writes in ESPNCricinfo that during Amir’s time in England, he was offered a very good deal by an English county, a day before he was caught.

During my conversation with him regarding the offer, I realised that because the offer was a few thousand pounds short of what he expected, he was willing to let go of an opportunity to play and establish himself at a renowned and historic county. I came to the conclusion that he was not, after all, so gullible and naive about money matters.

Ramiz Raja

If we keep allowing players to return to the game, then will we ever remove the poison of spot-fixing that has corroded cricket from the inside for several years now?