English county Derbyshire has signed veteran Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir as an overseas player.
The county, led by former Pakistan coach and South African-Australian cricketer Mickey Arthur, made the announcement via social media.
Taking to Twitter, Derbyshire wrote: “Derbyshire have signed former Pakistan fast bowler, Amir, as an overseas player for the first half of the 2024 season.”
According to The Telegraph, Amir, 31, who took retirement from international cricket in 2020, is set to acquire his UK citizenship next year due to his marriage to a British national, Narjis Khan.
Notably, Amir has massive experience of playing county cricket as has already represented Essex and Gloucestershire in the past.
After retiring in 2020, Amir had been seen playing in various T20 in different countries. He has played in Pakistan Super League (PSL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the Caribbean as well.
Significantly, Amir was banned from international cricket for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC) along with Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt in a spot-fixing case in 2010. The pacer also served half of a six-month custodial sentence in young offenders institutes in Feltham and Dorset.
After marking his return in 2016, the pacer helped the Green Brigade in winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, where Pakistan had outplayed their arch-rivals India in the final by 180 runs.
Commenting on the development, Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, said: “Mohammad is a world-renowned fast bowler and someone who I am delighted to bring to Derbyshire. He will lead our attack in red ball and T20 for the first half of next season and I’m so excited to see what he will produce.”
“I know all about his quality, he has been a big-game player throughout his career and that’s something I’ve seen first-hand. I know the Derbyshire supporters are going to love seeing Mohammad charging in,” he added.
Meanwhile, Amir expressed: “I’ve enjoyed my experiences of county cricket in the past and joining up with Mickey, who I’ve had so much success with internationally, is something I’m looking forward to.”
“The County Championship is so special and I’ve always enjoyed playing first-class cricket in England. I’ve spoken to Mickey about the quality in the squad and I want to put in the performances to help Derbyshire challenge in red and white ball cricket next summer,” he added.