I still oppose Mohammd Amir’s return; incident still hurts: former Pakistan bowling coach Aquib Javed
There’s every possibility that Mohammad Amir would bump into his erstwhile bowling coach Aquib Javed after he checks in at Le Meridien in Dhaka.
The hotel hosts all five teams for the Asia Cup and Pakistan’s Amir might find Javed at arm’s length and make no mistake, the encounter would be frosty. Javed is here as the coach of UAE but he was Pakistan’s bowling coach when Amir made the biggest transgression of his life – bowling no-balls at pre-determined times to facilitate a bookie.
Javed was heartbroken with the “betrayal” then, and was one of the key personalities who opposed Amir’s return to international cricket.
Incidents at the 2010 Lord’s Test shook the very foundations of the game, and jail term and five years ban for the left-arm fast bowler followed.
Javed, the former Pakistan medium pacer, meanwhile, moved on to take charge of an ICC Associate, helping UAE qualify for the 50-over World Cup in Australia last year. But old scars remain. Lord’s would never be forgotten. Amir would perhaps never be forgiven by his former coach.
“It was an ugly incident. I opposed his (Amir) return to cricket. I still oppose it. Everybody has his own idea and I’m entitled to mine. But he has returned after being in exile for five years. It is what the ICC felt. I have no problems because I will live with my belief, my idea. Hopefully he (and the others) would learn from his mistakes, but I still feel betrayed. It still hurts. It was really bad. I was heartbroken,” Javed lamented over, during an interaction with The Indian Express at the hotel.
Stardom befell on Amir early. He was the whiz kid, only 18, when he started to make a serious impact. By August 2010 he had taken 51 wickets in 14 Tests at 29.09, coming to top-flight cricket just one year previously. The youngster was considered to be the next big thing in world cricket and it was unfortunate that he lost his propriety.
“It was sad. Pakistan lost a world-class bowler. Greatness awaited him but his wrongdoings took him towards a sad ending,” Javed said, adding: “I hope he would be able to start it all over again.”
Amir is still very young. At 23 years of age redemption shouldn’t be beyond him but Javed prefers to wait and watch.
“It’s too early. He has age (on his side) but it would take some time for him to settle down and regain effectiveness. Much would depend on his mindset. He would be very conscious about his surroundings. Once he settles down, he can take it from there,” Javed said.
The stigma won’t disappear though. “Amir was booed by a section of fans at Eden Park stadium in New Zealand on his international return. In January. Javed wasn’t surprised. “That’s the reality. I think he should be ready to accept boos – comment from the outside people, media or crowd. He should be ready and brave enough to take it.”
Even his own dressing room has seen a few rumblings since his return.Team mates Azhar Ali and Mohammed Hafeez had vehemently opposed Amir’s return to the national team fold before they were browbeaten by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Amir played three T20 internationals and two ODIs in New Zealand last month, getting one (average 100.00) and five (average 13.40) scalps respectively. He is in the Pakistan Asia Cup squad and will also feature in the World T20 but according to Javed, the challenge lies in regaining the complete trust of the locker room. “Look, it’s about individuals. It’s his (Amir) duty to ensure that he gets the confidence back (of his team mates). (A degree of) suspicion will be there.”
In the here and now, one would have to see how Javed and Amir react when they do run into each other.
