Speaking with PakPassion.net from Rawalpindi, Asif Bajwa, who was Amir’s schoolteacher and cricket coach from the age of 11 shared his thoughts on Amir's mental state and potential for return to international cricket.

By Saj Sadiq (April 12th, 2012)

September 2015 seems a very long way into the future, but for one Pakistani cricketer that date must seem like an eternity. The date represents when Mohammad Amir’s cricketing ban ends for spot fixing and by then he and the watching world will know whether we will see him playing first class cricket again.

Nobody really knows what physical or mental state Amir will be in when the clock ticks to the month of September in the year 2015. Amir will be 23 and will have been away from any form of competitive cricket for a period of 5 years. It doesn’t matter how good an athlete you are, or how determined you are, or how hard you have worked during the lack of competitive action, a comeback after a gap of 5 years away from cricket will present an extremely tough challenge for Amir.

Amir’s cricketing future remains uncertain and even during his interview with Mike Atherton for Sky Sports, he seemed hesitant at times about whether he would be looking to make a comeback to cricket. On closer examination of that interview with Atherton there was a sense of confusion as to whether Amir actually wanted to go through with a comeback. However whilst Amir may have been hesitant or uncertain about a comeback, his mentor Asif Bajwa is confident that his young prodigy will be mentally tough enough to make an exceptional and memorable comeback.

Speaking with PakPassion.net from Rawalpindi, Bajwa, who was Amir’s schoolteacher and cricket coach from the age of 11 confirmed that he had kept in touch with the teenage pace bowler via his lawyers throughout his custodial sentence.

“I was in touch with Amir directly prior to his custodial sentence. We kept in touch over the telephone throughout his stay in England last year leading up to the trial at Southwark Crown Court. When Amir was given his custodial sentence obviously it was difficult for me to speak directly to him, so my contact with Amir was through his lawyer. The main reason that I wanted to continually speak with Amir was to give him support and reassurance through the problems and issues he was facing. I sent him a message to try and remain positive and look to the future.”

Bajwa added “I had huge concerns about Amir in custody and I was extremely worried about him. But the messages that I was getting via his lawyer was that he was handling himself very well. Amir never let himself become too despondent or become too upset. We supported him and did our best to keep his morale high and I felt reassured and relieved when Amir sent me a message to say that conditions at the young offenders institute were very good and that there was a lot of discipline in place. He also sent me a message to confirm that the tutors were very helpful and that there was a nice balance of education and leisure time.”

“Whilst Amir was really down when he was given the custodial sentence, he realised that he had to make the best use of the three months that he was in custody. He realised that he would suffer mentally if he just felt sorry for himself and depressed at Portland Young Offenders Institute, so what he decided to do was to make the best use of the facilities and educate himself, improve his reading skills and play other sports too. He said to me in another message that he wanted to remain positive and did not want to become mentally demolished” added Bajwa.

Bajwa confirmed that he had been to Lahore recently to visit Amir at his residence and that the left arm bowler was now very optimistic and hopeful about his future.

“It was good to see Amir again. I was relieved to see him back in Pakistan. We obviously had a lot to catch up on and the best thing that I got from our recent meeting was that he was very positive and looking to the future. We talked about his studies and how he wants to further his education whilst he is away from cricket and we also planned a training schedule and routine for him once he is back in Rawalpindi. We appreciate that there are restrictions on where Amir can play cricket but I am already looking at alternatives and my residence has enough space for Amir to practice without any problems. The practice area is ready and waiting for Amir’s return” stated Bajwa.

Bajwa who Amir has praised for standing by him after he was jailed also confirmed that Amir wants to educate and coach the young cricketers who come to his residence for training and coaching.

“Amir is very keen to coach the young boys who I work with and to help them with their cricket skills. He is adamant that he wants to help the youngsters, to guide them and to tell them about the mistakes he made and for them not to fall into the same traps that he did.”

When asked about whether he had noticed any significant changes in Mohammad Amir’s personality since his return to Pakistan, Bajwa stated “Amir went to England for the trial as a boy, he has come back to Pakistan as a man. Whilst the period of custody was only 3 months, I have noticed a big change in Amir’s outlook on life. There is a certain degree of maturity about him in the way he was speaking or even what he was saying, I was impressed with what he had to say about his future.”

Bajwa has no hesitation or doubts about whether Amir can make a successful comeback to international cricket and feels that Amir can rise from the depths of despair and re-launch his career.

“We had a lengthy conversation about Amir’s future and I was really pleased with the positive intent that he gave and his body language. There was no doubt from him that he wants to return to professional cricket. He was saying to me that I have hit rock bottom, I have gone from being a hero to now being zero, but I know I can rise from the depths of despair and become a hero to fans again. He sounded very motivated, keen and ready to face the challenges that he will come up against in the coming months and years.”

Bajwa admitted that the short term and long term issues Amir faces will undoubtedly present a difficult challenge, but he feels that Amir will come back an even better bowler when he returns to first class cricket.

“I said to Amir that he needs to be at peace with himself. What has happened has happened, move on, learn from it and look to the future. Learn from the past, but don’t keep thinking about what happened, instead think about the future. My aim is to make Amir mentally and physically prepared again for the rigours of top class cricket. I want him to have that burning desire to play cricket like he had when I first saw him. I want him to have that freshness and exuberance that he had when he first walked through my door and when I first saw him bat and bowl.”

“I know Amir very well and I am confident that he will come back to professional cricket as an even better bowler this time around, so batsmen had better be aware. I have started to work with him on the mental side of the game again and when he returns to Rawalpindi next month then we will start working again on his fitness levels and his cricketing skills. Amir was very keen to start working with me on his fitness upon his return to Pakistan but I advised him to rest for now until May.”

Bajwa when asked about how Amir would react mentally to the first time he bowled a no ball in first class cricket or in front of the television cameras stated “I will prepare him for that situation too. It is part of cricket, he will bowl no balls in future but they will not be intentional no balls, of that there is no doubt. It will not be an issue and Amir will be ready to handle that situation of when he bowls a no ball.”