Rohit Sharma rebuffs hype surrounding Mohammad Amir

Rohit Sharma rebuffs hype surrounding Mohammad Amir Rohit Sharma, Indian opener, is unwilling to join the Mohammad Amir bandwagon, claiming on Tuesday (March 8), that the recent hype around the Pakistan quick was unnecessary. Answering a question about the left-arm pacer in India's pre-tournament media session ahead of the ICC World T20 2016, Rohit expressed his surprise at all the talk surrounding Amir post the 23-year-old's exemplary performance against India in the recently-concluded Asia Cup. Amir made a successful return after his five-year suspension for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. Amir accounted for Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina in a hostile opening spell as Pakistan fought gamely after putting up a measly total of 83 on a grassy wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. While Virat Kohli heaped praise on the returning quick in the post-match presentation, terming him 'world class', Rohit, who was trapped in front of the stumps by Amir off the second ball of the innings, said he'd rather make a comment on Amir after a sustained period of good performances. "Let's not talk only about him. He's not the only bowler... there are five other bowlers in Pakistan who've all been doing well," Rohit said. "He's only just come back and there's so much talk around him. I don't think we should be talking so much about him. He's come back now... Let him perform for a year and then we shall talk. "He is good but he will need to prove it again and again. After one match, we're talking about him so much. I think it's not right. Not just for him but for those following the sport... We have people comparing him to Wasim Akram... That's wrong. What he's (Akram) done... let him (Amir) do even a little bit of that and then we can talk," Rohit opined. The Indian opener acknowledged Amir's huge potential but cautioned that he still had a long way to go. "Definitely he's got talent. No doubt about it. But it's not like he comes and blows everyone away. He is normal like any other bowler and on a given day he's good... and he has got wickets. Personally I don't think we should be talking it up so much," Rohit said, before adding that he had no opinion on whether the tainted quick should have been allowed to come back in the first place. Rohit however, chose to talk up teammate and India's new find, Jasprit Bumrah, who he termed a 'rare talent'. "Bumrah is young and has a long way to go no doubt, but the way he has started, he will do well," Rohit prophesied. "He is an exception. He will come up with something you won't expect. I was standing in slip the other day (Asia Cup Final) and I didn't know what he was going to do. "He has a yorker, a bouncer and a slower one and that's everything a modern-day bowler needs. His action makes it difficult to pick him because you don't play such bowlers everyday. I know only two bowlers in the world - Lasith Malinga and Bumrah - who have such unique actions. Only time will tell what happens to him but at the moment he has started really well."