Speaking with PakPassion.net one of Amir's elder brothers Mohammad Saleem spoke of the family's anticipation at his impending return home, his hope that the five year ban is reduced and his wishes that Amir is back playing international cricket in the not too distant future.

By Saj Sadiq (14th January, 2012)

When your younger brother makes his international debut at the age of 17 and not long afterwards is widely acclaimed as one of the hottest cricketing talents in the world of cricket, you have every right to be proud and excited about the future.

In 2009, the Twenty20 World Cup Final in Lords was the first time that a worldwide audience observed the immense talent of Mohammad Amir and by a strange twist of fate it would be Lords that would also lay witness to his downfall after bowling the now infamous no ball upon request.

The world watched as a skinny kid with flowing hair and a big smile entered the world of international cricket with a bang. His refreshing attitude and relaxed approach made it appear as if Amir was playing cricket with his friends in the local park in his village, rather than at the highest level, in front of thousands in the stadia and billions on television. In an interview after the Test win at Headingley in 2010 over Australia, he told me with a beaming grin "I don't really feel pressure when I am playing cricket" and he wasn't wrong, as time and again he just went out onto the field of play and played his cricket hard, always with a freedom that defied his tender years.

However that pride and excitement for Amir's family or himself didn't last too long, as his brilliant start to international cricket was abruptly ended after being found guilty of spot fixing alongside former captain Salman Butt and fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif. All three were team mates at National Bank too and were given prison sentences at Southwark Crown Court in November last year, alongside cricket agent Mazhar Majeed. In addition to the prison sentences, the three cricketers were handed a minimum of 5 year bans from all cricket at an earlier hearing in Doha, Qatar.

Speaking with PakPassion.net one of Amir's elder brothers Mohammad Saleem spoke of the family's anticipation at his impending return home, his hope that the five year ban is reduced and his wishes that Amir is back playing international cricket in the not too distant future.

"It's been a very difficult time for all the family. To see Amir's cricketing career cut short, his livelihood taken from him and then for him to imprisoned in a foreign country was hard to take for all of us. It has been a very emotional time for us, but we are a very close family and we have supported one another through this. Now we are just counting the days until he returns back home so that we can be with him once again".

Amir's prison sentence announced by Justice Cooke at Southwark Crown Court was 6 months, although he is expected to serve half that time. Despite much speculation, there has been no official confirmation of when Amir will be released from Portland Prison in Dorset. Amir’s three month sentence is due for completion on 3rd February although the Ministry of Justice have not given any indication of when Amir will be allowed to return home. Saleem stated "We have only heard speculation in the media of his release date and as yet we have not had anything official to say when he is coming home. As far as we know, it will be some time in February".

19 year old Amir was initially imprisoned at the notorious Feltham young offenders institution but only spent 2 nights there which will have been a relief to him and his family and friends, before being moved to Portland Prison. Feltham was slammed in 2000 after a Muslim inmate was murdered by his racist cellmate. Another report spoke of "frequent" fights and "gang culture" in the jail.

Saleem who is one of 6 brothers added "We were never informed why he (Amir) was moved from Feltham to Portland and we did not really ask him. We speak to him regularly over the phone but we tend to speak to him about positive things like what we will do as a family when he is back in Pakistan. We tell him to remain positive and have faith and belief. We don't talk to him about the negative side of things as that will just be upsetting for him and for all of us in Pakistan. Over the telephone he has been quite positive, but it’s difficult to know exactly what is going on when you are thousands of miles away. I guess it is a case of him serving his time in the best way possible and them moving on from this horrible episode in his life”.

Saleem who is 24 and the second eldest of the brothers also stated "The family have not been to see him in prison in England as that would have been very difficult to take. We have kept the communication to just the telephone".

Mohammad Asif has recently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his ban from the ICC and it seems certain that Amir will follow suit once he has returned to Pakistan. Saleem though was non committal when asked about any appeal to the CAS and said "We will have to see what the legal experts say and what they advise. At this moment in time we just want him back home safely so that he can start to rebuild his life again, but five years away from cricket for him is very difficult".

Several high profile names in the world of cricket including former England captains Mike Brearley and Michael Atherton have labelled Amir's five year ban as excessive. Saleem when asked about the family's feelings towards Amir's five year ban from cricket stated "He is just a child, he is very naive and innocent and to ban him for five years was a very tough call. He just wanted to play cricket and enjoyed having his picture taken when he was playing cricket. His dream was to play for Pakistan and he would always enjoy seeing his picture in the newspapers and on the internet when he had performed well. We all pray that the harsh ban will be reduced and he can start playing cricket once again. We all pray that he reaches the top level of cricket once again and becomes one of the best bowlers in the world, we all pray that he can be back in the headlines for all the right reasons”.

Saleem though displayed his frustration at what he labelled as the friends around the world who disappeared and are now nowhere to be seen. “When Amir was playing cricket, the phone would not stop from people around the world claiming to be his friends, all of them offering him advice on various things, trying to make his head turn so that they could get his attention. Sadly though those so called friends were nowhere to be seen or heard when my brother needed them most. I guess they just had their own interests at heart. Only very few of the people Amir knew have kept in touch and wished the family well through these dark days”.