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Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal speaks to media at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore yesterday. The bowling actions of Pakistan’s ace spinner and Sohag Gazi of Bangladesh have been deemed legal, the International Cricket Council said yesterday.
Reuters/Lahore
Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been cleared to bowl after passing biomechanic tests on his remodelled action, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.
A week before the start of the World Cup, the ICC said Ajmal and Bangladesh spinner Sohaq Gazi had been re-tested in Chennai last month and cleared to resume bowling in international cricket.
“At the retests, it was revealed that the amount of elbow extensions in both the off-spinners’ bowling actions for all their deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance...” the world governing body said.
“The umpires are still at liberty to report Saeed Ajmal and Sohag Gazi in the future if they believe they are displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal actions from the retests.”
Spin spearhead Ajmal pulled out of Pakistan’s World Cup preliminary squad in December with the board ruling out any chance for the 37-year-old to get his remodelled action cleared before the Feb. 14-March 29 tournament.
But he has not given up hope of playing in the showpiece competition.
“Obviously if an emergency arises I am available for the World Cup even with my modified action although I would like to do more work on my modified action and new deliveries,” he told reporters in Lahore.
“I am really delighted today at my action being cleared but I want to return to top cricket when totally comfortable I can repeat my old performances,” Ajmal said.
“It has been a hard time for me and it is not easy to have had my World Cup plans disrupted. But the bad times are now over and it is the start of a new phase of cricket for me,” he added.
Ajmal, who has taken 178 test, 183 one-day international and 85 Twenty20 wickets is likely to return to the national side against Bangladesh in April.
“I don’t have any plans to retire and want to play for another three to four years,” he said.
Pakistan, World Cup winners in 1992, begin their campaign against arch-rivals and defending champions India in Adelaide on Feb. 15.
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