Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir likely to miss World XI T20 series due to personal commitments

Mohammad Amir’s dream of playing in front of his home fans might not be materialised during Pakistan’s upcoming series against World XI to be played in Lahore.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo , Amir and his wife, who are currently in England, are expecting their first child. The delivery is due any time over the next week.

The World XI team, which will be captained by South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and has Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower as coach, will play the first T20 match against Pakistan on 12 September.

The second and third games are scheduled on 13 September and 15 September.

Pakistan Cricket Board named Amir in the 16-man squad on 25 August. However, he has not travelled to Pakistan to train with his teammates and stayed back in England, where he has been playing for Essex after the conclusion of Champions Trophy.

Amir, after having served his spot-fixing ban, returned to international cricket in January 2016. He has been a regular in the Test and ODI teams, but was absent from Pakistan’s last T20 series against the West Indies in early 2017.

The last time Amir featured in the shortest format of the game was in September 2016, so his absence shouldn’t come as a blow to Pakistan.

Amir, whose searing spell in the final of Champions Trophy, helped Pakistan emerge victorious against India will be disappointed to miss out the watershed series.

However, the 25-year old’s wait won’t have to wait too long, as Sri Lanka are also scheduled to play one of their T20Is at Lahore in October if the World XI series goes off without any incident.