Amir's release creates a stir

Dubai: The release of Pakistan's young paceman Mohammad Amir in London after serving half of a six-month term in prison for spot-fixing created quite a stir at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Both the Pakistan and England skippers were questioned about it, with Misbah-ul Haq saying that "as a cricketer you feel sad about such incidents" but, "once he is cleared, once he is available, only then we will see what happens" about an international comeback.

His counterpart Andrew Strauss, however, was more forthright: "I have always said that deterrent for match-fixing or spot-fixing should be as strong as possible so that people don't do it in future. So it's up to the International Cricket Council [ICC] to deal with it."

Strong deterrent

Asked whether Amir deserves a second chance, Strauss said: "It's not up to me to decide these things. They had a long sort of judicial inquiry as to how long those bans should be. My opinion is that the deterrent should be very strong to make sure that people should not do it again. These guys have suffered quite badly going to the prison, on clearing them it's up to the ICC to decide."

Misbah said: "I am not the concerned person, the people who are concerned about that will decide about it. We are focusing only on our match." When asked whether personally he would like him to be back on the team, he said: "I think it's not my decision that matters."

Misbah was also asked whether he has any sympathy for Amir. "It's all up to the people, what they think, what they say about him. We have nothing to do with that, we are here to play cricket."

Delighted

Misbah was also asked whether as captain he would like to share a dressing room with him if selected again.

"I have clearly said that we have nothing to do with it. Once he is cleared and if he is available then we will see what happens, before that I have nothing to do with it."

After his release, Amir released a statement that only referred to Pakistan's recent victories over England in their first Test matches since the fixing-tainted 2010 series.

"I am delighted for the Pakistan cricket team. My thoughts are with them," Amir said in a statement. "I wish them every success. I will not be making any further comment."