Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir said that he would have loved to bowl to the likes of India captain Virat Kohli and opening batsman Rohit Sharma if they were to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Amir believes politics should be kept aside when it comes to sports as he spoke about the prospect of Indian players featuring in PSL and Pakistani players in IPL.
Pakistan players restricted to play in IPL
Notably, IPL 2008 was the only edition in which 11 Pakistan players took part in the cash-rich tournament. From the 2009 edition due to political tensions, Pakistani cricketers were barred from further taking part in the tournament.
India and Pakistan have not played bilateral cricket since January 2013 wherein Pakistan visited their neighbours wherein they played 2 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The two teams have not met in a bilateral Test series since the 2007-08 season.
However, India and Pakistan have been meeting each other at bilateral series with their most recent tie coming at the 2019 World Cup. Efforts to hold bilateral series in the past have not worked in favour, resulting in very limited episodes of one of cricket’s greatest rivalries.
Amir interested to bowl Virat and RohitÂ
“We have always said, as players, that cricket or any other sport, and politics should be kept separate,” Amir told Cricket Pakistan.
“I love challenges like bowling to top-notch batsmen and it would have been great to bowl to them [Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma].
“Be it the IPL or PSL, it would be beneficial for players, from Pakistan and India, playing in these competitions in terms of exposure and quality of cricket.”
Mohammad Amir Stats
Amir Batting Stats
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
| Tests | 36 | 67 | 11 | 751 | 48 | 13.41 | 1980 | 37.92 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| ODIs | 61 | 30 | 10 | 363 | 73* | 18.15 | 444 | 81.75 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| T20Is | 50 | 14 | 6 | 59 | 21* | 7.37 | 72 | 81.94 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| First-class | 67 | 102 | 16 | 1366 | 66 | 15.88 | 3050 | 44.78 | 0 | 2 | 168 | 12 | 15 | 0 |
| List A | 84 | 38 | 16 | 413 | 73* | 18.77 | 514 | 80.35 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
| T20s | 175 | 61 | 28 | 217 | 21* | 6.57 | 242 | 89.66 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
Mohammad Amir Bowling stats
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
| Tests | 36 | 67 | 7619 | 3627 | 119 | 6/44 | 7/64 | 30.47 | 2.85 | 64 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| ODIs | 61 | 60 | 3013 | 2400 | 81 | 5/30 | 5/30 | 29.62 | 4.77 | 37.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T20Is | 50 | 50 | 1079 | 1263 | 59 | 4/13 | 4/13 | 21.4 | 7.02 | 18.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 67 | 121 | 12394 | 5850 | 260 | 7/61 | 10/72 | 22.5 | 2.83 | 47.6 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| List A | 84 | 83 | 4244 | 3279 | 123 | 5/30 | 5/30 | 26.65 | 4.63 | 34.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| T20s | 175 | 172 | 3838 | 4503 | 205 | 6/17 | 6/17 | 21.96 | 7.03 | 18.7 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
