News

Amir's BBL hopes dashed by Thunder no-go

Mohammad Amir's possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn't materialise as Sydney Thunder weren't keen on signing the fast bowler

Mohammad Amir Amir played for Rawalpindi Rams in the Super 8 T20 Cup  •  AFP

Mohammad Amir Amir played for Rawalpindi Rams in the Super 8 T20 Cup  •  AFP

Mohammad Amir's possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn't materialise as Sydney Thunder weren't keen on signing the fast bowler. Amir's London-based agents contacted Thunder to find out their interest in Amir, but the franchise's general manager Nick Cummins said they were looking for an allrounder rather than a bowler to join Jacques Kallis as their second International player.
"We approached the Sydney Thunder and at that point we thought they still had a spot left for a similar type of player," Simon Auteri, whose company Insignia Sports International represents Amir, was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. "With the World Twenty20 coming up early next year we thought it might have been a decent fit."
"We appreciate with a lot of these teams abroad it will probably be a tough sell especially until he gets back playing at the highest level. He's back fully playing and he wants to play abroad, and he's still so young. We think that he does deserve another go and that's what we're trying to do."
Amir, banned for five years in 2010 for his role in spot-fixing, was allowed an early return to domestic cricket in January after he adhered to criteria stipulated by the new anti-corruption code. He picked up three wickets in a Grade-2 game, his first competitive fixture since 2010. Amir also turned up for Rawalpindi Rams in the Super 8 T20 Cup.