Amir Khan has to be one of the thinnest cricketers going around in India. But he brings a fat fight to the field. Behind the stumps, he is safe and unafraid of standing up to medium-pacers. In front of them, he is stodgy, capable of playing such innings as a 90-ball 7 to draw a match or an 81-ball 47 to get his team a first-innings lead. When he made his Ranji Trophy debut as an 18-year-old in 2004-05, he provided a solution to Uttar Pradesh's wicketkeeping problems. After Manoj Mudgal's retirement, they had experimented with two different keepers for two seasons, but they would finally settle with Amir. In junior cricket, Amir used to open the innings. He is pushed down the order - sometimes to No. 10 - in the senior side, but he doesn't fail to make contributions.
Cricinfo Staff January 2009