Former Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir has finally reacted to India opener Rohit Sharma’s remarks on him from six years ago.
On the eve of the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup game in 2016, in Kolkata, Rohit had shrugged off talks about Amir having an upper hand over the opener after he had dismissed him during the 2016 Asia Cup game a month before the World Cup clash.
During the Asia Cup, Amir registered stunning figures of 3/18 but Virat Kohli’s masterclass saved India.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup encounter, Sharma played down the “hype” around the left-armer, even saying that Amir “just a normal bowler”.
“Stop talking about him already. He isn’t the only bowler, Pakistan have five other bowlers who are doing well for them. There is just so much hype around him, I don’t think it is right to give him too much hype after one match. He is good but he needs to prove it over and over again. Now people are comparing him to Wasim Akram and all that. He is just a normal bowler, on that given day if he is good, he is good. It is not as if he turns up and blows everyone away,” he had said.
Mohammad Amir replies back to Rohit Sharma
Turns out Amir replied back with his bowling – he dismissed Rohit not only in the T20 World Cup game that followed but also, and more memorably, in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy helping Pakistan to the title.
Six years after Rohit’s comments, Amir, who retired from international cricket in December 2020 aged 29, has reacted to it. Amir stated that he didn’t take Sharma’s comments seriously and even hailed the Indian opener as a world-class batsman. Though he did take a dig at Sharma saying that whenever they have clashed, the bowler has had the upper hand.
“I don’t take Rohit Sharma’s statement serious. Everyone has its own opinion and it is impossible that everyone regards me as a world-class bowler. There is nothing to be felt bad about it and as a professional, we should not take such things in a negative way. You cannot be everyone’s favourite. No doubt he is a world-class batsman. I bowled well every time I have faced Rohit and he struggled while facing me, still I will call him a world-class player,” said Amir on a private news channel [as quoted by ASports].
