Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan vowed the country's cricket governing body was considering all its options to revoke ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal's indefinite suspension by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The 36-year-old's bowling action was declared illegal by the ICC on Tuesday following tests by specialists at an ICC-accredited lab in Brisbane on Aug 25.
And Shaharyar told reporters later on Tuesday that the PCB was considering its next move.
“The PCB has referred the matter to its recently-formed illegal bowling action committee, which will consider the matter and revert with their views and/or recommendations and the Board shall thereafter decide what action to take,” he said.
The committee consists of former Test bowlers Mohammad Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed, ICC award-winning umpire Aleem Dar, Ali Zia and Dr. Sohail Saleem. Aleem would be substituted by another umpire Ahsan Raza if he's away on ICC duty.
Shaharyar said there were at least 35 bowlers — mostly off-spinners — in Pakistan's domestic cricket whose bowling actions were 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,” he added.
“The PCB is contemplating its future course of action, weighing all options,” he said, adding that the board had 14 days to appeal.
Shaharyar said he felt someone like former pace bowler Waqar Younis, who is the head coach of the team, can help Ajmal emerge from the episode while ruling out any conspiracy against the spinner to bar him from playing. “It's not only against Pakistan,” he 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.”
Meanwhile, well-placed sources told Dawn that lab findings showed Ajmal's deliveries were touching 35 degrees, exceeding the 15 degrees level of tolerance for straightening of the elbow joint by a long way. The main reason for his great violation of the degree level is his age.
“The report of the ICC has also mentioned it that whenever Ajmal feels fatigue and bowls under any pressure his bowling action goes awry,” sources said. “The PCB was expecting his illegal delivery was only the ‘doosra' but his entire bowling action has been declared illegitimate and that is a great point of concern for all the coaches and team officials, who failed to note down this problem which can end his otherwise illustrious international career.”
