Mohammad Amir, who retired from international cricket in December 2020, has revealed that he intends to acquire UK citizenship in 2024.

Having represented Pakistan nearly 150 times across formats, Amir announced that he had played his last game for his country two and a half years ago, citing “mental torture” from the Pakistan Cricket Board. However, upon the departure of Ramiz Raja from his role as PCB chair, there was speculation that the left-armer could consider an international comeback though that is yet to come to fruition.

Amir has been settled in the UK since 2020, and hopes to obtain a UK passport in 2024. This would be a key step along the road to becoming eligible to represent England, but Amir has stated that that is not his intention. “First and foremost, I will not play for England because I have already represented Pakistan,” he told ARY News.

However, he left open the possibility that he could play in the Indian Premier League. Since the competition’s first year, Pakistan players have been effectively barred from participating in the IPL, but there are examples of those with dual citizenship being allowed to play. Azhar Mahmood, who last played for Pakistan in 2007, played in the IPL between 2012 and 2015 as a UK citizen. Amir was non-committal on whether he would enter into the IPL auction.

“As for the IPL, I will decide when I have my passport,” he said. “I prefer taking things step by step, and I cannot predict what the future holds for me in a year’s time.”

Amir has had an eventful career, bursting onto the scene as a teenager and helping Pakistan to victory at the 2009 World T20. A year later, he was at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, leading to his imprisonment and a lengthy ban from the game.

Amir since returned to the international stage for Pakistan, helping them to another global tournament triumph at the 2017 Champions Trophy, taking three top-order wickets in the final. His last appearance came in England in August 2020, but he has continued to ply his trade in county cricket and in T20 competitions around the world since then.

There has been speculation of an international comeback, but none has materialised as yet. Pakistan are considered as having a good chance at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, including by the Lottoland cricket betting platform.