Amir available for England series after receiving visa

Pakistan's Mohammad Amir can face England in the upcoming Test series after being granted a visa.

The seamer was named in the squad for the four-Test series last week, putting him in line to make his return to the five-day game at Lord's, the venue for the 2010 contest with England where he was found to have deliberately bowled no balls.

Amir returned to the international arena at the beginning of this year following a five-year ban for spot-fixing, but his Test comeback had been cast into doubt over concerns surrounding his visa.

The 24-year-old, who was also sentenced to six months in prison for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal, saw an application for a UK visa in a personal capacity rejected in 2014, but is now set to end his enforced exile from Test cricket.

A statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed it had been "officially informed that the UK government has approved the visa" for Amir.

Amir was Pakistan's man of the series in 2010 after taking 19 wickets, including a six-for at Lord's.

England captain Alastair Cook insisted on Wednesday he was content to face Amir, telling BBC Sport: "Hopefully he [Amir] has learned a really big lesson and he will play the rest of his career in the right way and not get sidetracked by external things. Hopefully that's right.

"I have absolutely no problems in playing against him, facing him, at all."

The first Test begins on July 14.