#360debate: Should Amir be allowed to play 1st-class games?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Out of action: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir is serving a five-year ban for bowling no-balls in the 2010 Lord's Test in exchange for money.

    In 2010, Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir was banned for five years for allegedly bowling two-deliberate no-balls. The ICC are looking to let the banned players feature in domestic ties before their suspensions expire.

    Our #360debate today is: Should Amir be allowed to play first-class games?

    Joy Chakravarty, Dubai Editor, thinks YES

    To err is human, and as long as Mohammad Amir does not make it a habit of taking the sport of cricket and his fans for granted and makes another serious lapse of judgment, he deserves a second chance.

    What Amir did in cohorting with Salman Butt and Mohammed Asif – two senior and established members of Pakistan cricket team – was a truly deplorable act, but he was still a teenager when he committed the offence.

    There is a good reason why judiciaries across the world act with more leniency towards juvenile and teen crimes. That’s because a majority of them are committed either under the influence of adults, or because they do not have a fair understanding of the implications of their actions. Also, unlike hardcore criminals, there is a good chance that these youngsters will actually take a turn towards the better after spending some time in correctional facilities.

    I’d really not like such a courtesy to be extended to Butt and Asif, mainly because they were the driving force behind the whole spot-fixing saga. When you are an 18-year-old and you have the captain and the senior bowler in your team asking you to do something, chances are you will comply with them. You’d either think this is an established norm in the team and a good way to make easy money, or you’d fear for your own future thinking there might be retribution from the seniors.

    You also can’t ignore Amir’s lack of education, something that has been a bane for subcontinental cricketers.

    There is also the cricket lover inside of me that wants him back, because Amir is a special talent. It happens a lot with batsmen, but a teenage fast bowler making an impression with his abilities is a very rare sight indeed. No wonder he became the youngest bowler in Test cricket to take 50 wickets.

    But most importantly, Amir has done his time. He went to jail, he cooperated with the ICC and he served his ban. And while his name will always carry the taint, he deserves to be reintegrated in the system and given a chance to make his living the only way he can – by playing cricket.

    Ajit Vijaykumar, Sub Editor, thinks NO

    The International Cricket Council is contemplating whether to allow the likes of Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir to “play domestic cricket for a certain period from the ban coming to an end”.

    This means players who have been suspended from cricket for serious offences like Amir, who admitted to bowling deliberate no-balls in the 2010 Lord’s Test in exchange for money, can now look to play domestic games and be prepared for a national call-up if they are good enough to do so.

    The issue I have with this move is ICC’s urge to ‘reintegrate’ these players. Why are they being brought back to the game? They have committed a serious crime that has damaged the very fabric of cricket.

    Players like Amir and New Zealand’s Lou Vincent, who admitted to being a cheat, have taken the game and its fans for a ride and undermined the efforts of their team-mates and the opposition players who played honestly.

    The talented Amir said he did not know the seriousness of what he was doing. That he acted after being misguided by the senior members of the team and thought he would be in trouble if he didn’t do what was being told.

    While I don’t accept that explanation, one can still give Amir the benefit of doubt. But under no circumstance should a player who has acted with malicious intent be allowed to play a fair game of cricket again.

    If you take money to corrupt the game, that should be the end of your career.

    In fact, I agree with a growing number of voices who feel the records of these players should be expunged. Their presence in cricketing history alongside great servants of the game is an unpleasant and constant reminder of their ill deeds and sullies any list in which their names appear.

    If players like Amir are allowed to play domestic matches before attempting a comeback, then there is no difference between such suspensions and suffering a long term injury; sit out for some time, play a few first-class matches and then return.

    Forget the reintegration process, such players deserve to be kicked out of the game and the record books for good.

    What is your opinion? Leave your comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #360debate.

    Recommended