Arthur reveals man who helped in Amir's career rebirth

Pakistan’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur revealed that former captain Misbah ul Haq allowed Mohammad Amir to make his comeback in the team after spot-fixing scam.

In an interview to ESPNCrickinfo, Arthur revealed the story behind Amir’s return to international cricket after serving five-year ban due to spot-fixing in England.

“When I took over Pakistan coaching, Amir had just come back. He has been outstanding about it,” Arthur said.

“I must admit, seeing him in England and seeing him now, he's a totally different character. In England he was very reserved, whereas now he is very much part of the team. He was finding himself as well,” Arthur said.

Amir cannot win for Pakistan ‘single-handedly’, Asif

“I'm incredibly fond of Amir and I admire the way he's gone about it so much. He's just such an incredible talent with the ball. The team over the year has responded to that, right? Over the year, gradually they've become better with him,” the site quoted Arthur.

Talking about Pakistan’s most successful captain Misbah ul Haq’s role in Amir’s rebirth, he said, “I think Misbah almost allowed Amir the space to find himself again, which I thought was very good.”

“He certainly allowed him that space. What have you made of his bowling? Last year he was unlucky but this year, he had wickets in West Indies and the Champions Trophy final. Has he changed as a bowler?”

The 49-year-old said, “His pace has started to get back to where it should be. And his swing is incredible. Those are two great attributes to have.”

“What I do know about Amir is that he is a big-match player. The bigger the occasion, the more he rises to it. That is not prevalent in every player. A lot of cricketers in those big, big moments, disappear. Amir doesn't. He wants those big moments. He craves those big moments. And generally, he's pretty successful in them,” Arthur added.

Amir, former captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif returned to domestic cricket after serving five-year ban. However, Amir made a superb comeback in the side and was part of Champions trophy winning squad.