PSL 2023: Wasim Akram defends Amir's aggression on field

Amid a lot of criticism faced by Karachi Kings pacer Mohammad Amir, the head coach of Karachi and former cricketer Wasim Akram supported on Friday the on-field aggressive expressions of the pacer, saying it "spices up the game". 

Amir, who represents Karachi in the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) eighth edition, showed aggression towards youngsters, including Mohammad Haris and Hassan Nawaz after which he was criticised on social media.

The head coach while responding to the matter in an interview with Arab News, said: "I think we have too much time on our hands. You need characters, you need a bit of rivalry and I am all for it. I am all for Amir, the way he has been saying stuff as a bowler," he said.

Akram believes that friendly gestures should not be part of the game. "What's the point of going into the PSL game, or any game and shaking hands with the batter and hugging them?" the former flamboyant pacer asked.

"Okay, before the game or after the game, I am all for it but during the game, be professional and these little words off the field also add spice to PSL that's the beauty of PSL," he added.

In the end, Akram — who has the most international wickets for Pakistan — advised people to enjoy this healthy on-field rivalry.

"We should enjoy it instead of criticising individually and consistently," he concluded.

Amir is currently the fifth-best bowler in the PSL 2023. He has nine wickets which are equal to Multan Sultans' Usama Mir who is settled in fourth position due to a better average.  

Squad

Imad Wasim (c), Haider Ali, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir, Matthew Wade, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, James Fuller, Adam Rossington, Akif Javed, Mohammad Akhlaq (wk), Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Umar, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, Faisal Akram