Mohammad Amir ( ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team from 2009 to 2024. A left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman, he plays for Rawalpindiz in the Pakistan Super League. He was a member of the Pakistan teams that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
Amir made his international debut at the age of 17 during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and helped Pakistan win the tournament. In the 2017 Champions Trophy final, he was pivotal in Pakistan's victory over India, taking the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shikhar Dhawan.
In 2010, Amir was arrested for spot-fixing after bowling deliberate no-balls during Pakistan's tour of England. He received a five-year ban from the International Cricket Council and was convicted of conspiracy charges at Southwark Crown Court, serving three months in prison. He returned to international cricket in January 2016.
Amir retired from international cricket in December 2020, citing ill-treatment by the Pakistan Cricket Board management. He briefly came out of retirement for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup before retiring again in December 2024.
Early and personal life Amir was born on 13 April 1992 in Changa Bangial, Gujar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan into a Punjabi family. The second youngest of seven children, consisting of six sons and a daughter, his father Raja Mohammad Fayyaz served in the Pakistan Army before taking a government job as a watchman in a school.
Growing up, his idol was Wasim Akram, claiming, "Wasim Akram is my favourite bowler, 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 was invited to join the sports academy set up by Asif Bajwa, who was the chairman of Bajwa Cricket Academy, in Rawalpindi.
After joining the national team, Amir moved to Lahore with his family to be closer to top-flight cricket facilities.
Amir married British citizen and lawyer Narjis Amir in September 2016. Together they have three daughters, Minsa Amir (b. 2017), Zoya Amir (b. 2020) and Ayra Amir (b. 2022). Amir was reported to have acquired a British citizenship in May 2026.
Domestic and T20 career Amir was first selected as a fast bowler by the former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram at a fast bowling camp in 2007. Amir, then 15 years old, went on a tour of England with the Pakistan U-19 cricket team and was one of the leading bowlers. He took 8 wickets at an average of 16.37 runs. In 2008, he took 4 wickets in successive matches against Sri Lanka and England. In this tri-nation tournament played in Sri Lanka he again excelled with his speed and swing bowling taking 9 wickets at an average of 11.22 in three matches. Due to injury he played only a limited part in the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia.
In March 2008, he made his domestic debut for the Rawalpindi Rams whilst concurrently representing the National Bank of Pakistan. His debut domestic season resulted in him taking 55 first-class wickets for NBP. He took a lot of top order wickets including those of players in the national team. This strong domestic form resulted in him making his international breakthrough in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.
In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Dublin Chiefs in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Khulna Tigers in the 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League. In October 2020, he was drafted by the Galle Gladiators for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League. He took 5 wickets for 26 runs against Colombo Kings, becoming the first player to take a five-wicket haul in the LPL.
In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Galle Gladiators following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League. In December 2021, he was signed by the Karachi Kings following the players' draft for the 2022 Pakistan Super League.
T10 franchise career He was signed by Bangla Tigers for the 2021–22 T10 League but made himself unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19.
International career Debut years Amir made his international debut against England in the group stages of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. He took the wicket of Ravi Bopara with only his second ball, with Shoaib Malik taking a fine catch, and conceded only one run in his debut international over. Amir made his One Day International match debut against Sri Lanka taking 3 wickets at an economy rate of 4.50 and also scoring 23 runs.
After his successful 2009 T20 World Cup tournament, Amir was selected in the test squad for Pakistan for the series in Sri Lanka. He was chosen alongside fast bowler Umar Gul and Abdur Rauf, ahead of more notable and experienced names such as Sohail Tanvir. He started his Test career well, taking six wickets in the match, which included the wicket of Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara in both innings, as well as the Sri Lankan batsman, Mahela Jayawardene's wicket in the 2nd innings. However he did not get any wickets in his next two Test matches. His next test wickets came in New Zealand where he managed to take four wickets in the first Test match, during a losing game. He won his first Test match with the Pakistan team during his 5th Test match, as Pakistan won comprehensively by 141 runs, he managed to take three wickets in the match including the wicket of Taylor, who scored 97 runs in the second innings. He shone brightly with the bat as well and showed a solid technique for a lower order batsman.
World Twenty20 championships Amir continued to impress as the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 tournament continued, taking a wicket in his opening spell in 6 of the 7 games he played, including the final. He was particularly effective at using the short ball, with his skiddy bouncers rushing onto the batsmen, often causing them to mishit the ball for a catch. Amir consistently clocked speeds of above 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) and bowled his quickest delivery in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 final against Sri Lanka, at 152 kilometers per hour (94.4 miles per hour). His most important moment arguably came in the opening over of the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. He bowled with speed and with consecutive short deliveries to the tournament's top scorer Tillakaratne Dilshan, obtained his wicket on the fifth delivery, and managed to end the over with a wicket maiden.
In the initial stages of the 2010 World Cup Amir took three wickets in a five wicket-maiden over in a Twenty20 International match against Australia.Scorecard Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 May 2010. The other two men were run out in the same over. This set a world record of three wickets for a bowler in Twenty20 and 5 wickets for a team in one over.
Pakistan Cricket Board contract Amir was ignored by the Pakistan Cricket Board when they awarded cricket contracts to Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Yousuf, even after his exceptional performance in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Later on the Pakistan Cricket Board awarded Amir a 'C' category contract.
Making a mark in the international arena
On 9 November 2009 he scored 73 runs against New Zealand which was a record for a number 10 batsman in ODI history until Ravi Rampaul surpassed that record with scoring 86* when batting at number 10 position in 2011. In that innings, with his batting partner Saeed Ajmal, Amir added 103 runs to Pakistan's chase, only to fall short by 7 runs.
He impressed the Pakistan cricket team, including Wasim Akram, who took credit for discovering Amir, although Akram later commented that Amir needed to gain more weight to aid his development.
Later in 2009, Pakistan toured Sri Lanka and in the first One Day International match, he shared a 62 run partnership with fast bowler Umar Gul for the tenth wicket but Pakistan lost by 36 runs. He also played a game against New Zealand in 2009–2010. During a match in the third One Day International match, when Pakistan was reduced to 8 wickets for 86 runs, he scored 73 runs not out, making the highest score by a number 10 batsman in One Day International cricket and putting on a 103 runs, 10th wicket partnership with Saeed Ajmal. He was unable to get his team to their victory target of 212 runs, as Ajmal was declared out in the last over and Pakistan lost by just 7 runs.
During the Test match series against Australia in 2010, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he took his first five wicket haul, taking the wickets of Australian batsmen Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke. On 24 July 2010 he was influential in helping Pakistan win the 2nd Test match against Australia; the first Test match Pakistan had won against them in 15 years, which also drew the series 1–1. During this match he took 7 wickets overall, and was declared man of the match. Overall, in the second series, he was the leading wicket taker of both teams with his 11 scalps.
In the summer of 2010, Amir was awarded the man of the match award for becoming the youngest player ever to take a five-wicket haul in England. He also became the youngest player to take 50 test wickets, earning praise from several former international cricketers. In that eventful series against England, he took 19 wickets, the highest of the Pakistanis and third highest overall at an outstanding average of 18.3. He also took 2 five-wicket hauls.
International comeback After five years, on 13 March 2015, Amir made his domestic comeback playing for Omar Associates in the grade II patron's trophy. He took a wicket in his first comeback over.
On 19 August 2015, Mohammad Amir was declared completely free to play all forms of cricket from 2 September 2015. On 15 January 2016, he made his return to international cricket in a T20I match against New Zealand. In February 2016, Amir took a hat-trick in a Pakistan Super League match for Karachi Kings. He also participated to the first T20I edition of Asia Cup in 2016 and also for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He later made his international comeback against England, where he was taunted by English fans chanting "No Ball!" at him.
On 30 August 2016, against England at Nottingham Amir scored 58 after coming at no.11 and became the first cricketer to score a half century in ODIs after coming last in the batting order. He was dropped for the next match against England two days later.
He along with Sarfraz Ahmed set the record for the highest 8th wicket partnership in ICC Champions Trophy (75*).
2016 Asia Cup Following his return to international cricket, Amir participated in the 2016 Asia Cup. In the fourth match of the tournament, Amir produced one of his best spells against arch rival India. Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for 83. Amir took 2 wickets in the first over, thus putting the Indian team under pressure. However, as the target was modest, India chased the target with four overs to spare, Amir finished with 3/18 in that match. He continued his fine performance throughout the tournament and finished with 7 wickets with an economy under 6.
2017 ICC Champions Trophy