KARACHI: Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) head coach Atiq-uz-Zaman believes Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir should be withdrawn from international duty until the national’s team tour of South Africa early next year.

Amir’s hiring to the department’s cricket team was announced by Zaman last week, who said the fast-bowler needs time away from the hectic schedule of international cricket to regain his best form.

“There are a lot of reasons why Amir’s pace has relatively declined and he is not getting swing any longer,” Zaman told Dawn during a telephonic conversation on Tuesday.

“From his fatigue level to how he is unable to make the most of the crease, and how his wrist position is not suitable for swing bowling, many things have been pointed out by the people. But I believe, it’s his lack of confidence that has worn him down,” added Zaman.

Zaman attributed Amir’s lack of confidence to him not being able to perform up to the expectations for quite some time. “Amir is under performance-related stress. As a player, sometimes when things are not going your way, you start to believe that you are not going to perform at all. Unfortunately, Amir is currently at that stage,” he added further.

Responding to a question, Zaman said his team has a good pace-bowling attack that will give Amir the confidence he needs at the moment.

“Even if he does not pick up a wicket bowling alongside our bowlers, we will ensure that he enjoys his bowling. The stress and burden of expectations he carries while bowling in international cricket will not be here in the domestic competitions. It will be ideal for Amir to regain his lost confidence by playing the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy,” elaborated Zaman.

“I have talked to Mickey Arthur as well about Mohammad Amir and he is on the same page with us on his issue. We will keep him in the loop as regards to Amir’s performance in the ongoing domestic competition,” said Zaman.

“I have been communicating a lot with Amir for the last three to four days. Our goal is to help him get his rhythm back with the white ball. We will have a session with Amir where we will watch his videos of PSL and other games in which he did well. He will identify the issues himself,” said Zaman.

When asked whether fast-tracking Amir into the national side was a good move, Zaman said that he had opposed Amir’s comeback three years ago.

“When he was playing the qualifying round for us back in 2015, his fitness level was not up to the mark. He was getting tired earlier than the rest. I had suggested then to work on his fitness rather than fast-tracking him into the national team.

“When I had a chat with Amir two years ago in Manchester, he had said to me that he wanted to rest. But unfortunately, he couldn’t get any because Pakistan was struggling with its pace bowlers,” revealed Zaman.

“Now that Pakistan has found decent pace bowlers, Amir can be given a rest from the cricket played in Dubai and be asked to prepare himself for Pakistan’s tour to South Africa.”

He believes that, Kabir Khan, the bowling coach of SSGC, will also help Amir overcome his bowling issues.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2018