When he burst onto the scene, Pakistan saw him as a start for the future. Workmanlike batting technique even at a young age forced the selectors to ear-mark him as one for the long run but it has not panned out like that after a debut in all the formats for Pakistan.

Umar played for Pakistan in the 2008 under-19 World Cup along side other future stars like Mohammad Amir, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Shan Masood and others but failed to have a memorable tourney as he did not manage a single fifty plus score. But his performances at the domestic level continued to be good and eventually he was inducted into the ODI team in June 2010. His position in the ODIs was never fixed and after a handful of ODIs, he was dropped in 2014.

His Test introduction happened a month after the ODI debut and even that did not spell anything like fairy-tale for him - he went on to play only three more Tests after that. He has not played a Test for Pakistan since 2010. But after the retirements of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, Amin is expected to make a come back to add solidity to the line up.

Amin has been recalled to the Pakistan squad for the series against World XI as cricket returns to Pakistan. He would certainly try to grab his chances and do well for him to have a longer rope this time around. His name also had cropped up when Umar Akmal was sent home from the Champions Trophy squad just before the start of the tournament. Amin is a safe fielder and bowls medium pace at leisure times.