Convicted spot-fixer Muhammad Aamir was on Sunday selected in the Pakistan cricket team that will tour England for a four-Test series for the first time since the spot-fixing scandal broke in 2010.
24-year-old Aamir has made an impressive comeback in shorter formats and ironically his probable return to Test cricket will happen in the same country where he was arrested for indulging in spot-fixing along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif.
Chairman of selectors Inzamam ul Haq said that the board had given clearance to pick Aamir in the side as they had been told his visa would arrive on Monday.
“We were anxious for him as he can be a key bowler for us in England and I am sure he is strong enough to perform there despite the pressures he will feel on returning to England after the spot fixing scandal six years ago,” Inzamam said.
Experienced batsman, Muhammad Hafeez was also named in Test squad despite suffering from fitness problems in the past few months.
Inzamam told the media in lahore that the selectors had taken Hafeez’s fitness test on Saturday and Sunday to see if he had made a recovery from his knee problem.
Squad
Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Muhammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Shaan Masood, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ifthikar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Muhammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Aamir, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan.