ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board will appeal against the suspension of match-winning offspinner Saeed Ajmal after the International Cricket Council decided his bowling action was illegal.
"We have decided to appeal within 14 days, and want the ICC to reconsider his ban," PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Tuesday, within hours of the ICC suspending Ajmal.
"If our appeal is not successful then he will be banned for one year, but I do hope Ajmal will remodel his action within one year and plays again."
Analysis of the bend and straightening of Ajmal's bowling arm revealed "all his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance," the ICC said.
The action was analyzed by an ICC-accredited team of human movement specialists using the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on Aug. 25.
Ajmal's suspension is a serious blow to Pakistan's plans for the World Cup next year, as the 36-year-old has taken 183 wickets in 111 ODIs, along with 178 wickets in 35 tests.
Ajmal was reported after the first test loss to Sri Lanka in Galle last month, when he was Pakistan's best bowler with match figures of 65.1-8-195-5. He took four wickets in the second-test defeat but missed the first two ODIs to carry out the tests in Australia.
According to ICC regulations, a suspended bowler can continue to play in domestic cricket under the supervision and consent of the home board, and can apply for a reassessment any time after he modifies his bowling action.
Khan said there were at least 35 bowlers — mostly offspinners — in Pakistan's domestic cricket whose bowling actions are suspected.
"We have decided to make a committee to assess bowling actions of all these suspect bowlers so that this problem is sorted out once and for all."
Ajmal was previously reported for his doosra in 2009 during a one-day series against Australia in Dubai and cleared all the tests.
In May, England fast bowler Stuart Broad questioned Ajmal's bowling action and said the offspinner used different actions on the field and during testing.
Khan ruled out any conspiracy against Ajmal to bar him from playing.
"It's not only against Pakistan," Khan said. "There are lots of other bowlers from countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies, who were reported in the recent past, and now the ICC is strict on this."
Former Pakistan captain and coach Javed Miandad extended his support to Ajmal, and asked him to consult retired Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan, who also had his action reported.
Miandad said Ajmal should forget about reworking his bowling action in Pakistan, and should go to Australia to fix it.
"Ajmal has played enough international cricket and he knows what he needs to work on, he's the boss of himself, and just needs proper guidance," Miandad said.
"I don't think there are people in the Pakistan Cricket Board who could assist him because there's a fleet of coaches with the team, and even then Ajmal has been reported."
Mushtaq Ahmed was the team's spin bowling consultant.
Another former captain, Rashid Latif, said Ajmal's suspension was a major setback for Pakistan as there was a lack of quality spin options in reserve.
"The sad part is that we haven't tried any other specialist offspinner in international matches, and now our World Cup plans are severely dented," Latif told The Associated Press.
"(Pakistan) bowling is finished without Ajmal. I had doubts for the last few months ... because the way he bowls, it's hard to get away with in test matches."
Latif doubts there will be enough time for Ajmal to moderate his action, have new tests, and be cleared by the ICC before the start of the World Cup in February.
Pakistan is scheduled to play Australia and New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates over the next four months. The Emirates has been a happy hunting ground for Ajmal, with 67 wickets in 12 tests.
"We will try to bring a replacement (for Ajmal)," Khan said. "It's not easy because he is our match-winner."
