KOLKATA: The much-awaited return of Mohammed Amir to international cricket through the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) seems to be unleashing as much drama as his exit in 2010.

Amir debuted for Chittagong Vikings with a bang in his first-ever BPL game on Sunday, returning match figures of 4 for 30 in four overs, his scalps including that of a rampaging Misbah-ul-Haq (61).

The Vikings, which drafted Amir and three other Pakistanis in its complement of nine foreign recruits, also dismissed claims by Mohammed Hafeez that it had wanted to sign him up.

The denial comes on the heels of recent reports that Hafeez had turned down an offer from the Vikings to play for them alongside Amir, convicted in a 2010 spot-fixing case.

The reports quoted the former Pakistani captain as saying he did not want to be in a team that also featured anyone who had brought disrepute to his country.

But now, according to the Bangladesh media, the Chittagong Vikings have denied ever making an offer to Hafeez, saying it had completed its foreign recruitments long back.

The T20 BPL 2015 started on Sunday with Chittagong Vikings taking on fancied Rangpur Riders, led by all-rounder Shakib-ul-Hasan of Bangladesh.

The Riders missed the services of Pakistani recruit Wahab Riaz, who is in UAE till the end of the ongoing series against England. But his absence was more than made up for by Misbah, who blasted a match-winning 61 off 39.

Chittagong ‘surprised’ by Hafeez claims

In the meantime, according to a report in leading Bangladesh publication Prothom Alo, the Tamim Iqbal-led Chittagong Vikings have expressed “surprise” at suggestions that it had approached Hafeez.

“We have not made any offer to Mohammed Hafeez,” the daily quoted team advisor and former Bangladesh captain Akram Khan as saying.

“You (the media) have received the full list of players including the foreign recruits,” he told the paper.

“We don’t need any more outstation players, we are full.”

Khan then went on to wonder: “How does he (Hafeez) say all this?”

Team icon and skipper Tamim Iqbal echoed Khan’s sentiments, saying that as far as he knew, no offer had been made by the team think-tank to Hafeez.

“I am the captain, I would be aware if any such offer had been made,” Tamim said.

Upset over Hafeez’s claim, one disgruntled reader responded to the report in the Bengali publication in English: “Grapes are sour when you can’t eat them.”

Chittagong Vikings have drafted Amir, Saeed Ajmal, and the two Akmal brothers Umer and Kamran from Pakistan, all of who are eyeing a comeback to the national team.

The other foreign recruits are Tillekaratne Dilshan, Jeevan Mendis, Chamara Kapugedara (Sri Lanka), Robin Peterson (South Africa) and Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe).

Amir anticipated

Bangladeshi fans were ambivalent over inviting Amir to BPL over his conviction in the spot-fixing case, with many quite willing “to give him another chance” given his age and immense talent.

Chittagong Vikings have pinned much of its pace strategy on the 23-year-old and home-grown sensation Taskin Ahmed, 20.

So much so, Prothom Alo said Amir was the subject of some light-hearted bantering between Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza, captain of Bangladesh as well as Comilla Victorians, on Saturday.

Apparently, during practice at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla stadium, Tamim “threatened” to unleash Amir on Mashrafe.

“When you are batting, I will bring on Amir at least for one over” he reportedly said.

“I will tell him to bowl on your legs,” he told his captain.

In response, Mashrafe dared Tamim to bring on Amir any time.

“I will despatch him to the fence,” he was quoted as saying.

“I will score 20 in that one over.”

The Vikings will meet the Victorians in the first face-off of Tuesday.

To his credit, Amir did not disappoint in his BPL debut against Rangpur Riders.

His first over was a maiden, and in his second, he sent back opener Lendl Simmons and the hard-hitting Soumya Sarkar, who fell to a dubious LBW decision.

In the 18th over of the match and his fourth, Amir took two more wickets (Thisara Perera, caught Mendis 43 and Misbah, bowled with a searing yorker, 61).

His final tally read four overs, one maiden, 4 for 30.