Mohammad Amir granted visa to play in New Zealand

Wellington: Convicted spot fixer Mohammad Amir will resume his international cricket career in New Zealand this month after immigration officials granted him a visa Thursday to play for Pakistan in its one-day and Twenty20 series.

Amir completed a five-year ban from international cricket in September and served six months of a three-year prison sentence for taking bribes to bowl no balls at specified moments in a Test match against England at Lord's in 2010.

New Zealand immigration officials considered withholding Amir's visa on character grounds, but decided to allow him to enter the country, taking into account his completed suspension and his support from the Pakistan and New Zealand cricket boards.

Amir was first selected for Pakistan at 17 and became the youngest player to take 50 test wickets before he was banned at 18 when a newspaper exposed spot-fixing by Pakistan players.

Pakistan will play New Zealand in three Twenty20 internationals starting in Auckland on Jan. 15 and three one-day internationals later in the month