Pakistan began their Cricket World Cup journey yesterday with a dismal performance against the West Indies.
We saw our whole batting order collapse to the West Indies bowler’s short deliveries. The match reminded West Indies fans of their glory days from the 70s and 80s. For Pakistani fans it was a horror show, reminding us of the pre-chachu mickey era. West Indies chased down Pakistan’s 105 with 218 deliveries to spare and at a loss of only 3 wickets.
The only good thing was fast bowler Muhammad Amir’s performance
In any other match, this wouldn’t have been a positive take away to celebrate but yesterday’s match was different. The last time Amir took more than a wicket in an ODI was all the way back in 2017 during the Champions Trophy Final against India. This is the reason why he didn’t even make it to the initial 15 man squad but was given a chance to prove himself at the England tour.
However, due to chicken pox, he missed all matches but was still included in the final World Cup squad.
What happens next? He breaks his spell of 293 wicketless balls, in first 10 overs of ODIs. He achieved this at an economy of just 4.33.
Amir provides the Pakistani bowling attack with leadership and stability
This is why we believe Amir is a vital player for Pakistan in CWC 2019. In a match where the team was defending only 106 on a pitch where 400 has been scored by the opposing team, his performance impressed as the left arm genius bowled 22 dot balls out of his 36.
Amir has shown us that he is capable of leading our bowling attack. Although past comparisons with legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram have often been scrutinized we feel now is the right time to draw those comparisons again and provide motivation for the genius bowler.
