Misbah-ul-Haq says recall of Mohammad Amir should be respected

Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has called on the cricketing world to respect the decision to recall pace bowler Mohammad Amir to the international fold.

Amir has received his first Pakistan call-up since completing a five-year ban for spot-fixing. On Friday, he was named in the one-day international and Twenty20 squads to tour New Zealand.

Amir, 23, has served time in prison in the UK for the deliberate bowling of no-balls during the 2010 series against England.

Nevertheless, his selection is a new chapter in his cricketing career, despite some consternation among Pakistan players both past and present.

Misbah, who took over the captaincy in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal, wrote on www.cricket.com.au: "Some players had reservations against his comeback and I think the cricket board has done the right thing by engaging players and Amir in conversation.

"It will be good for everybody. We need to remember that the regulatory bodies have allowed him to come back. We players shouldn't even comment on it and need to respect the decision of the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board."

The series against New Zealand begins on January 15 with the first of three T20 internationals before the sides play three ODIs.

Amir's selection came on the back of good performances in Pakistan's domestic game and a bowler once hailed glowingly by the likes of former West Indies great Michael Holding will be hoping to hit back at his critics.

"I recently watched Mohammad Amir in the Bangladesh Premier League," Misbah added. "I think he is the same bowler he was five years ago. He is quite fit and the pace and swing he has is the same when he left.

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"I couldn't see a difference between the Amir then and the Amir now. But right now the question is not about his performance. There is no doubt that he has done well in the domestic cricket as well as the BPL."

Pakistan's T20 captain Shahid Afridi says the players must back Amir.

"Amir made a mistake but he accepted it in the first place unlike others who kept on lying for three years," Afridi told Sport360.

"Everyone should support him now because he is part of the team. We should move on from whatever happened and I feel Amir will give his best for the country and I expect him to deliver with dedication and commitment."

Amir was released from a young offenders' institution in Weymouth in February 2012 after serving half of a six-month jail sentence for spot-fixing. He had pleaded guilty to intentionally bowling two no-balls at Southwark Crown Court in 2011.