Amir is an incredible talent with the ball: Mickey Arthur

Monitoring Desk

AUCKLAND: Ever since taking up the role of head coach of the Pakistan cricket team Mickey Arthur has turned tables and brought new fortunes to the nation. Arthur has called his experience of coaching the Asian team fantastic and full of emotions, colour and intensity. The South African took over the coaching reigns after former coach and bowling legend Waqar Younis resigned from his post following some dismal performances in the limited-over formats.

Prior to working with Pakistan, Arthur had coached South Africa and Australia and expected to bring the experience of coaching both the teams to help the Men in Green become a better side. And to an extent, he has delivered. Under Arthur, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy for the first time but for the South African, player and structural development takes precedence. One player who has impressed Arthur the most in the setup is Mohammad Amir. The 49-year-old veteran heaped praise on the left-arm pacer by calling him a player who craves a big occasion and then makes sure he shines in that moment.

The speedster, who was initially trying to fathom his responsibilities in the team after a comeback, has come a long way under Arthur’s tenure. Lauding the pacer, Arthur said, “Amir has been outstanding. 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. I’m incredibly fond of Mohammad Amir and I admire the way he’s gone about it so much. He’s just such an incredible talent with the ball.”

The Protea added, “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.”