Not Archer, not Broad, not Anderson – Steve Smith has revealed that Pakistan quick Mohammad Amir is the “most skilful” bowler he has faced, during an Instagram Q&A on June 14.

Answering a fan, who asked Smith “the most difficult bowler he has faced”, Smith mentioned Amir, the 28-year-old left-arm paceman, who retired from Tests last year to focus on white-ball cricket.

The two cricketers evidently share mutual admiration for each other; last month, Amir had called Smith the toughest batsman to bowl to among the current lot, lauding the Australian batsman’s “solid technique” for his success.

Question: Who have you found to be the toughest batsmen to dismiss?

Mohammad Amir: In the past I would say it was Jonathan Trott. From the current batsmen, it is Steven Smith due to his solid technique#Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) May 25, 2020

Amir has dismissed Smith thrice in 18 international games, once in each format. The T20I and Test dismissals came on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010, the same year Amir was convicted of spot-fixing and banned for five years. The sole ODI dismissal came during in Brisbane in 2017, when the Australian was dismissed by Amir for a first-ball duck.

Smith, currently the No.1-ranked batsman in Test cricket, also praised Amir’s Pakistan teammate Babar Azam, calling him a “very good player, who has a lot of time when he’s batting.”

Further in the Instagram Q&A, Smith called the 2015 World Cup win as the best moment of his career thus far.