Amir blew chances of 100,000-pound Yorkshire deal due to 'spot-fixing' scandal

London, Sep 11: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has blown away the chance of a 100,000 pound deal with Yorkshire due to the Lord’s Test ‘spot-fixing’ scandal.

Amir, who flew home to Pakistan along with fellow teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, was Yorkshire’s No 1 choice to be the overseas player for 2011.

“Amir is a magnificent young bowler and we were interested in signing him for next season,” The Sun quoted Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire director of cricket, as saying.

“He would have tapped into the local Asian population, but it is fair to say we are now looking elsewhere,” he added.

Former England batsman Geoff Boycott, who operates as a global talent spotter for Yorkshire, had suggested the 18-year-old fast bowler to the county.

Earlier, sporting equipment manufacturer BoomBoom had suspended its relationship with Amir saying that the move was necessary to protect the company’s image.

“Like everyone else in the cricket world, we are truly saddened and shocked by these allegations. I sincerely hope they are not true,” Ali Ehsan, BoomBoom Managing Director, said in a statement.

“However, we are huge cricket lovers: pure and simple. We believe in, and encourage players to have, the freedom to play, fairly. We cannot allow our brand to be associated with any whiff of corruption or suspicion of foul play.”

“While the suspension of our commercial involvement with Mohammad Amir is not a step we take lightly, we nevertheless feel that it is the right thing to do while a judicial process unfolds and innocence or guilt is established,” he added.  

British tabloid ‘News of the World’ has claimed that Amir along with Butt and Asif were bribed by London-based agent Majeed Mazhar to bowl three ‘no-balls’ during the Lord’s Test against England last month.