Mohammad Amir responds to Rohit Sharma’s six-year-old ‘normal bowler’ comment
Mohammad Amir recounted how he felt being termed a “normal bowler” by India’s experienced opener Rohit Sharma. The Pakistan left-arm seamer said he didn’t take the remarks made by Sharma too “seriously” and focused on doing his job during the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup encounters that year.
The issue dates back to early 2016 when, ahead of the much-anticipated Indo-Pak T20 World Cup game in Kolkata, Rohit was asked to talk of the threat posed by Amir against the Indian batters in the aftermath of his fantastic spell in an Asia Cup game a few weeks before.
Amir ran through the Indian top-order and gave the then MS Dhoni led side a scare even as Pakistan eventually suffered a chastening defeat. One of his wickets that day was the elegant Rohit Sharma, who got out plumb LBW facing an inswinging yorker from the Pakistan speedster.
Mohammad Amir says he never took Rohit Sharma’s comments “seriously”
Before the T20 World Cup game in Kolkata, Rohit Sharma downplayed the threat posed by Amir and said: “Stop talking about him already. He isn’t the only bowler, Pakistan have five other bowlers who are doing well for them. There is just so much hype around him, I don’t think it is right to give him too much hype after one match.”
“He is good but he needs to prove it over and over again. Now people are comparing him to Wasim Akram and all that. He is just a normal bowler, on that given day if he is good, he is good. It is not as if he turns up and blows everyone away,” Rohit added.
WATCH: Mohammad Amir hit for six off first ball; cleans up batter next delivery and gives a send-off
At the time, those words and the remark “normal bowler” was seen as a jibe at Amir, who then got Rohit out again for a measly score of 10 off 11 deliveries on the night of the marquee encounter. Amir repeated that feat at the 2017 Champions Trophy final, looking as fired up as ever to get the better of the dangerous Indian batter, followed by scalps of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan to set up a historic win.
“I don’t take Rohit Sharma’s statement serious,” he was quoted as saying by ASports. “Everyone has its own opinion and it is impossible that everyone regards me as a world-class bowler. There is nothing to be felt bad about it and as a professional, we should not take such things in a negative way.”
“You cannot be everyone’s favourite. No doubt he is a world-class batsman. I bowled well every time I have faced Rohit and he struggled while facing me, still I will call him a world-class player,” he added.
