Why Mohammad Amir's talent must not go unfulfilled

Mohammad Amir was on the verge of greatness before his no-ball shame

Mohammad Amir was on course to become one of the best Test bowlers of all-time when he deliberately sent down two no-balls at Lord's last August.

He is now facing a six-month prison sentence after admitting charges of conspiracy to cheat.

Amir has also got four years remaining on his five-year ban from playing cricket, a ban he deserved for his part in the spot-fixing scandal.

However, it would be a sporting tragedy if his talent went unfulfilled.

He was just 18 at the time of the shameful day at Lord's and was the youngest Test bowler to reach 50 wickets. He was the real deal.

There is a real lack of quality fast bowlers in world cricket now, but Amir was potentially world-class. In fact, he probably already was world-class aged just 18.

A fantastic left-arm seamer, he could swing it both ways, had express pace, accuracy and was a very handy batsman to boot.

Despite all his talent though, there is one thing he can never escape: he cheated.

Whether he was pressured into it by older team-mates and influential agents is irrelevant. He cheated.

Amir clearly overstepped the mark for both no-balls, which prompted immediate suspicion

However, everyone has a right to rebuild their reputation after serving their punishment, and the ICC has a duty to cricket fans to help Amir learn the error of his ways.

Six months in a Young Offenders Institution and five years out of the game he loves should be enough, but he should also be re-educated to ensure if he does make a cricketing comeback, he doesn't fall into the same traps.

Perhaps he was a naive teenager and pressured into it. We will probably never know.

Regardless though, his talent must not be wasted.

Seen as the natural heir to his hero Wasim Akram, he was well on course to become one of the world's greats.

Can he fulfill his talent after his five-year ban? Will Pakistan's selectors ever dare to pick him again? Will future team-mates ever be able to trust him?

These are questions which will be asked of Amir in around four years time when his cricket ban has been served.

It will be extremely difficult for him to find a club willing to take him on, never mind convince his national team he is deserving of another chance, but once he serves his crime, he should be allowed a route back into the game.

Amir, pictured above the day the allegations were first made

Amir comes from a very poor background. Perhaps he saw the money on offer from bowling two no-balls and thought, "I can give my family a better life."

Perhaps his claims he was bullied or threatened into it are true.

Perhaps he thought, as a naive 18-year-old, that simply bowling two no-balls was no big deal.

Amir is not innocent in all of this. He still shouldn't have done it and still deserves his punishment, but should be given another chance.

Fans will always doubt him if he takes to a cricket field again, but cricket lovers will also get the chance to see one of the best talents in the game fulfilling his potential.

It would be tragic if his career ends here.

Amir was also the only one of the three players charged with the crime to show any sort of remorse in court.

He was the only one to admit his part in the scandal, the only one to offer a full and frank apology full of emotion. All the other two, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, could do was try to shift all the blame onto the teenager.

Butt and Asif were experienced members of the Pakistan side

Amir should have known better but Butt and Asif, as well as agent Mazhar Majeed, appear to have been the real driving forces behind the whole operation.

Majeed admitted his charges and it goes without saying he should have no involvement in any form of cricket in future.

As for Butt and Asif, they deserve everything they get.

Butt was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Asif for one year, and that was the least they deserved.

They are both banned from cricket for the same period as Amir, but if either of them were to play cricket again that would be plain wrong.

Butt was the captain. He had a responsibility to protect young players like Amir from being poisoned yet led him and encouraged him to cheat.

Asif was the senior bowler, who should never have allowed himself to be caught up in it all.

Age can be no excuse for them. They were experienced members of the side and should have known much, much better.

Neither showed a grain of remorse in court and for this they must never be allowed to play cricket again.

Butt, in particular, has no place in cricket's future.

Captain Butt was clearly a huge influence on teenager Amir

He was the instigator, the captain, the poisonous presence which claimed the scalp of Amir and protested his innocence in the face of damning evidence to the bitter end.

Amir is by no means innocent but look at the examples which were being set in the dressing room.

He was an impressionable 18-year-old, living the dream and convinced to risk his career for cash.

Will he ever pull on the green jersey of Pakistan again? It appears highly unlikely.

He will only be 23 when his cricket ban is served, and so has time on his side, but there will always be a question mark over his head.

However, he must be given a chance to play cricket again and earn his place on the international stage again. A chance to rebuild his reputation and fulfill his potential.

One of the brightest young lights in cricket must not be allowed to drift out of the game. For that would be the biggest tragedy of this whole ordeal.