Mohammad Amir did not travel to Ireland with the rest of the Pakistan side because he did not receive a visa in time. Amir, who is a permanent resident of the United Kingdom, applied for an Ireland visa along with the rest of the Pakistan side, according to a PCB official. But while the rest of the squad received visas before their travel to Dublin on Tuesday, Amir did not and remained in Pakistan.
The PCB are in touch with Cricket Ireland over the issue, with a PCB official telling ESPNcricinfo it was ultimately the host board’s responsibility to ensure visas for the travelling squad were facilitated and provided in time. Given the short nature of the tour – Pakistan play three T20Is in the country from May 10 to 14 – it puts Amir’s involvement in the series in doubt.
As things stand, there is no word on a timeline around when his visa is expected. One member of the Pakistan management – Mohammad Yousaf – also had his visa approval delayed, but managed to receive it just in time to travel with the rest of the squad. It is not yet clear whether Amir’s visa delay has to do with the timing of his application, though the PCB’s view is he applied at the same time as the rest of the squad.
Amir has been to Ireland before. He was part of the Pakistan side that went to Malahide to play in Ireland’s inaugural Test match in 2018. He retired from internationals in 2020 before reversing that decision earlier this year and played his first international games in four years in the recently concluded home series against New Zealand.
The Pakistan squad is expected to arrive in Dublin early on Wednesday morning, with all three games to be played there. Pakistan then travel to the UK, where they play four T20Is ahead of the World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
Pakistan failure to win a trophy under Babar Azam’s captaincy was under the spotlight once again when the side’s skipper addressed a press conference hours ahead of the team’s departure to Dublin here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Monday.
The national team is headed to the Ireland capital to play three Twenty20 Internationals from May 10-14 against the hosts. The series will be followed by Babar and co.’s four games in England from May 22-30 before they fly out to Dallas to feature in the T20 World Cup, set to be held in the United States and the Caribbean in June.
Pakistan narrowly missed out on the T20 showpiece’s trophy when it’s last edition was held in Australia in 2022, losing out to England in the final.
It wasn’t the first time the team had failed to achieve silverware under Babar’s leadership; Pakistan had gone down in the semi-finals in the previous edition and had been knocked out of the T20 Asia Cup by Sri Lanka months earlier. Pakistan’s 50-over World Cup trip to India was also a forgettable one.Babar wants to keep all those memories behind himself.
“Past is past. though in the past our aim and focus and goal was also the same’ to bring the trophy home, but unfortunately we could not finish well,” he said. “But we have double the confidence and belief that we will do it this time.”
The last six months saw Babar stepping down as the Pakistan captain after the 50-over World Cup, pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi taking charge of the T20 side, before his predecessor being reinstated by the country’s cricket board as the side’s white-ball skipper again.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s administration under chairman Mohsin Naqvi also convinced veteran all-rounder Imad Wasim and pacer Mohammad Amir to withdraw their respective international retirement decisions before bringing the duo back especially for the T20 World Cup.
The PCB also appointed Gary Kirsten as the Pakistan head coach, though the South African will join the side ahead of the England tour with his deputy Azhar Mahmood to lead the backroom staff.
