ICC suspends Saeed Ajmal for illegal action

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday Sep 09,2014  suspended Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who is currently perched at the top of its ODI rankings, after his bowling action was found to be illegal following an independent analysis.

“The International Cricket Council today confirmed that an independent analysis has found the bowling action of Pakistan’s off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to be illegal and, as such, the player has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect,” the ICC said in a statement

The analysis of the 36-year-old’s action revealed that all his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations.

“Saeed, who was reported after the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle last month, can apply a re-assessment after he has modified his bowling action in accordance with clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions,” the ICC statement read.

The analysis was performed on August 25 by the ICC’s accredited team of Human Movement Specialists at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.

Reported to match referee Andy Pycroft by on-field umpires Ben Oxenford and Ian Gould, Ajmal played the second match only to see his team lose the game and the series.

The venue and time of the analysis was decided in consultation with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Ajmal has played 35 Tests for Pakistan, grabbing 178 wickets. His ODI record stands at an impressive 183 wickets from 111 matches. His 63 T20 appearances have yielded 85 wickets.

He was first reported for a suspect action in 2009 — his debut year — but was cleared after tests at the University of Western Australia in Perth. The bowler was reported for his ‘doosra’.

This time, the ICC changed its protocols for testing bowling actions reported by umpires and match referees and the tests were held in Brisbane.