LONDON: Mohammad Amir’s ICC World Cup dream may be over sooner than expected. The Pakistan pacer missed the second ODI against England in Southampton because of reportedly a viral infection.

According to a report carried by ESPNCricinfo on Monday, left-armer Amir is all set to miss the third game in Bristol on Tuesday as it has emerged that the infection is suspected to be chickenpox. He is in London with his family and not with the team currently.

The 27-year-old Amir, who was not named in Pakistan’s 15-man World Cup squad, was included in the side to face England in the ODI series which was a gateway to make a case for himself for World Cup selection. How long it will take him to recover is not clear at the moment, but even if it is a week from when he originally fell ill, Amir is left with a herculean task to break into the 15-man squad.

According to the report, if the pacer does not recover in time for Friday’s game, then it would be close to impossible for him to make it to the squad with only two ODIs of the England series left.

If Amir does not make it to the World Cup this time, it will be his third World Cup that he’s missed after missing the 2011 and 2015 editions because he was serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.

Amir’s likely replacement for Tuesday’s ODI may be Mohammad Hasnain.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2019