Amir eyes next step to Pakistan return

Returning Pakistan quick Mohammad Amir is upbeat ahead of Pakistan's domestic season after recovering from an injury which had sidelined him for more than a month.

Amir had picked up a hairline fracture in his right toe during the Ramazan Twenty20 tournament in Karachi, but now the 23-year old is targeting an international comeback by first performing well in the coming national Twenty20 tournament starting September 1 and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class tournament, starting September 17.

"I have started my training again after the injury which had put me on rest for almost a month," Amir said in an exclusive interview with cricket.com.au.

"I have been training from the last couple of weeks and have started to bowl again. I am feeling much better now."

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Amir will be playing the Twenty20 tournament for Rawalpindi and will represent his department, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), in the qualifying round for the Quaid-e-Trophy.

However, to play his first first-class match since the Lord's Test in 2010 – the match that ultimately led to his five-year ban following the spot-fixing investigation – he will have to wait until mid-October when the main round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy starts as the qualifying round, despite having four-day matches, does not have first-class status.

In case his department SSGC does not qualify for the main round he will be eligible to play the QEA Trophy for his region, Rawalpindi.

"The coming season is pretty long," he said. "Even in the qualifying stage we will be playing five four-day matches.

"Only once the preliminary stage is over I will be able to tell at what position I am standing.

"I'll be playing four-day cricket after a long time which is a good thing for me because four-day cricket improves your rhythm day-by-day. The longer you bowl, the better you feel."

Amir doesn't feel burdened by expecation as he prepares to line up for SSGC, despite the side relying on his talents with the ball as a key aspect of their qualification for Pakistan's marquee first-class tournament.

"I don't think there will be any pressure on me to make my team qualify for the main event. Even if there is pressure I will learn something from it," he said.

"We have some good youngsters in our team. Shoaib Malik is also with us. We are hopeful that we will do well."

Pakistan's immediate international assignment is a tour to Zimbabwe at the end of September where they will play two T20s and three One-Day Internationals followed by a full series – three Tests, four ODIs and three T20Is – against England in the UAE starting October 13.

The chances of Amir playing in any of these two series appear slim at the moment but cricket.com.au understands that the Pakistan Cricket Board might select him for Pakistan A which will play a pair of two-day games against England in Sharjah before the Test series as well as a 50-over practice match in Abu Dhabi before the ODI series.

There is also a series in the pipeline between Pakistan A and England A (aka England Lions) in December, also in the UAE, which may represent another opportunity for the returning left-arm quick.

But Amir insists his current focus is on the imminent domestic T20 tournament, beginning next Tuesday in Rawalpindi.

"I always go step by step," he added. "I have not set any big goals. I focus only on present. My current task is to do well in the coming Twenty20 championship and then in the qualifying round for the QEA Trophy."

Pakistan's chief selector Haroon Rasheed believes Amir will have to prove his form and fitness through first-class cricket in order to make an international comeback.

Rasheed, who previously has worked as Director of Game Development with the PCB, believes T20 tournaments are not enough to judge the form, fitness and stamina of any player.

"At this moment it is very premature to talk about Amir. A five-year gap is not a small period. A player needs to play a full season or half to make an international comeback. There hasn't been any pressure on his body yet," Rasheed told cricket.com.au.

"He has been training very hard and had a good T20 tournament in Faisalabad but T20 cricket is not as competitive as first-class cricket, therefore it is too early to talk about his comeback.

"The moment he starts playing first-class cricket rigorously, only then we will be able to make a judgment on his form and fitness. It also depends on how determined he is and whether he will be able to regain his fitness."