Afridi welcomes Aamir in Pakistan squad

Lahore—Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi backed Mohammad Aamir, who was included in the Pakistan One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) squads for the tour of New Zealand.

Aamir will return to international cricket, after serving his five-year ban for spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England.

“Happy to have Amir back in the team. He told me the truth the first time I asked him in England. He admitted his mistake and we should back him now,” Afridi reacted via Twitter.

Of late, there have been a lot of differences in opinions regarding Amir’s selection in the Pakistan squad. Senior Pros like, Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali made it public that they were not supporting the decision. Azhar, in fact offered his resignation from the post to Pakistan’s ODI skipper to protest against Aamir’s selection. PCB chief Shaharyar managed to convince him to withdraw the same.

Talking about Azhar and Hafeez’s stance, Afridi mentioned, “We suffered a lot due to the spot fixing scandal and our image was tarnished everywhere.” However, he asked his teammates to move forward. “We now need to move on and I will back Amir and expect him to serve Pakistan cricket with total dedication and commitment.”

Aamir, on the other hand also thanked Afridi for his support. “I’m very thankful to Shahid Afridi Bhai for all of his support and guidance. He is like an elder brother to me,” he wrote on social media after being selected in the Pakistan team.

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