Mohammad Amir has been released from jail

Mohammad Amir has been released from jail, where he was serving a six-month term for spot-fixing, around three months ahead of schedule.
Amir, 19, was detained for six months in a young offenders institution after he admitted bowling two intentional no-balls in the Lord's Test against England in August 2010. He was found guilty and jailed at the start of November 2011.


As part of the sentence, Amir is to return to his native Pakistan, though he is expected to remain in London for meetings with his lawyers over an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a five-year ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council. 


Amir, along with team-mates Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, were punished by ICC bans in February last year. Asif and Butt, serving one year and two and a half years respectively, both remain behind bars.


The talented left-arm bowler had taken 51 wickets in 14 Tests before his career was brought to an abrupt halt, but Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf has left the door open for him to eventually return to international cricket.


"Whenever he is cleared by the International Cricket Council and serves his punishment, we think he needs intense counselling and then the selectors can decide about him," Ashraf said last month.


"As far as his playing again is concerned that is for the selectors to decide because there is no doubt about his immense talent and he is still very young."


Pakistan's Test team has fared well in Amir's absence, with Misbah Ul-Haq leading the squad to a series victory over England in the United Arab Emirates.