Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir (Urdu: محمد عامر, born 13 April 1992), also known as Mohammad Aamer, is a Pakistani international cricketer, whose suspension and subsequent five year ban curtailed his promising career. He is a left arm fast bowler, who opened the bowling inall formats of the game. He made his first-class debut in 2007, and his first One-Day International and Test appearance in 2009 in Sri Lanka, at the age of 17. However, he played his first international match during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, where he played in every game, helping the national side win the tournament.

                                     Early life

Amir was touted as having the potential to be a leading fast bowler by former Pakistani left arm fast bowler Wasim Akram who picked him out as a prospect in 2007. Since Amir's establishment in the international arena, former Pakistani batsman Rameez Raja, as well as Akram himself, have stated that "He is much cleverer than [Akram] at 18".

On August 29, 2010, he was implicated in allegations of spot-fixing and is currently serving a five-year ban for allegedly bowling two-deliberate no-balls, Amir however has announced that he plans to appeal the verdict handed out by his prosecutor the International Cricket Council.

Early life

Mohammad Amir was born in 1992 in the remote village of Changa Bangyaal, Gujjar Khan,Punjab. He was the youngest of seven children. From a young age, he played street cricket, often trying to emulate his hero, Wasim Akram. He was quoted as saying, "Wasim Akram is my favourite, he's my idol. When I used to watch him on TV, I would try to see what exactly he was doing with the ball. Then I would go outside and imitate his actions and bowling.

In 2003, at the age of 11, Amir was spotted at a local tournament and invited to join the sports academy set up by the former Pakistan hockey international Asif Bajwa inRawalpindi.

After joining the national team, Amir moved to Lahore with his family to be closer to top-flight cricket facilities.