Pakistan cricket authorities heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday after the Irish consulate issued visa to Mohammad Amir who is likely to join the team before the second T20I in Dublin on May 12.
A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) source said the board has been notified about Amir’s visa clearance and it is making travel arrangements for the left-arm pacer.
Amir is currently in Lahore while the rest of the squad left on Tuesday (May 7) for Dublin for the series.
After days of deadlock, the breakthrough eventually came after discussions between PCB and Cricket Ireland over the delay in issuing visa to Amir.
The PCB was not given any particular reason for the delay in issuing the visa to Amir by the Irish consulate.
But the source said the delay occurred because of a technical ground, which has now been resolved.
“Obviously, the PCB was unhappy with the visa delay as it affects the team management plans for the (T20) World Cup and also has a bearing on the affected player who has returned from retirement to international cricket after four years,” the source said.
After the series against Ireland, Pakistan will move to England for four T20Is starting from May 22 at Leeds.
Interestingly, Amir was readily issued a visa to play in Ireland’s inaugural Test match against Pakistan back in 2018.
Ireland and Pakistan squad for T20I series
IRE: Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector, Paul Stirling (C), Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Neil Rock, Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Benjamin White
PAK: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.
