Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan pacer, has revealed the extent of his fitness problems that led him to retire from Test cricket, saying he was “screaming from the inside” while playing through pain in the 2019 World Cup.

Amir announced his retirement from Tests after the World Cup last year, prompting criticism from many, including former players. However, Amir has now revealed how his body struggled with the strain of playing in all three formats, leading him to prioritise the longevity of his career over Test cricket.

“I know that if I play three formats, especially Test cricket, my body won’t let it happen,” he told Mushtaq Ahmed on the former Pakistan spinner’s YouTube channel. “My body was so broken that people on social media started saying Amir’s swing is gone and pace is low, and he’s not getting rhythm.

“So they should know Amir is not a machine, and [is] human. There has to be a reason that the pace fell, swing got lost, and I wasn’t getting rhythm. I came back after a five-year gap [ban for spot-fixing] and I don’t want my career finished in two years.”

Amir was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker at the World Cup with 17 scalps, but he didn’t make the initial squad for the tournament, having struggled in ODIs since the 2017 Champions Trophy, and had to fight his way back into contention after performing in the bilateral series in England before the World Cup.

The axing hurt him, he admitted. “The World Cup axe was a big blow for me, and I thought I’ve now gotten to a stage where I’m dying to play the tournament and I’m getting dropped, so I had to decide about my cricket, how I can keep myself at the top level for the next five-six years,” he said. “Playing is not an issue, but staying at the top is – that’s a big challenge. Playing is no good if I perform in one match out of three.”

Mohammad Amir retired from Test cricket at the age of 27 today.

Sam Hunt picked out his best five bowling performances from his Test career👇https://t.co/rQpBhUXvm3

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 26, 2019

He went on to narrate how severely injured he was when playing Pakistan first match of the World Cup against West Indies. “In the first World Cup match against the West Indies, I played with a spasm – I couldn’t see my collar bone – and I had taken three pain killers the night before and another three in the morning [of the match],” he said. “My shoulder was taped. When I bowled the first ball of the match, I was screaming on the inside with the pain – that’s how much pain I was in. Others wouldn’t have heard the screaming, but I was the one who cried.

“During the World Cup, I had told Mickey [Arthur, the then coach] I am retiring from Tests and I will announce it because I need time to build my body. [If] I play the longer format, my body won’t get time to recover, because I need a break to build it.”