Muhammad Amir gets Irish visa, set to join Pakistan side ahead of second T20I

Lahore, May 9

Pakistan cricket authorities heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday after the Irish consulate issued visa to Muhammad Amir who is likely to join the team before the second T20I in Dublin on May 12.

The first of the three T20Is will be played on Friday at the Clontaff ground.

A PCB source said the board has been notified about Amir’s visa clearance and they are 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 the Pakistan Cricket Board 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.