Former England skipper Alastair Cook was of the opinion that Pakistan left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir should not get a chance of redemption after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, but both players are now looking forward to playing together for Essex in the English county.
Amir, 25, is expected to make his county debut for Essex with a match against title-holders Middlesex on Monday and Cook will be adorning the same colours as the Pakistani pacer.
However, when the last time these two met, it was Pakistan touring England and Amir came out on top, bowling Cook on two occasions — first innings of the first and second Tests.
But Amir is happy with the reception at Essex and especially how Cook welcomed him, saying that there is no animosity between them and insisted their relationship is already “very good”.
“I met him the first day when I arrived and he was very nice,” said Amir as quoted by cricket.com.au. “He said to me, the funny thing, ‘I want to learn Urdu, so you have to teach me’.”
The hero of the recently concluded Champions Trophy final against India had more praise for ‘very nice human being’ Cook.
“No [there are no issues between us], nothing,” said Amir. “He’s always nice and always very supportive. Everybody knows he’s a good batsman and a very nice human being, so I think it will be a very good journey with him.”
When asked how he was treated by the general public, Amir said they too have been very welcoming. “The way the people treat me, they are very nice to me; the way they gave me a reception was very inspiring for me.”
Amir admitted he has his tail up after his starring display at The Oval against India and hopes that success will translate into a successful summer in English domestic cricket.
“That was a career booster,” said Amir. The way I performed in the final for my country feels very, very good, I don’t have words for that,” said Amir. “After the way we won the final, your confidence will go up, and I will use that, definitely. It will be a very good summer for me; my first time playing county cricket. I’ve met good people here and hope it will be a good journey.”
