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Ajmal suspects Watson role in fixing him
Saeed Ajmal feels Australian all-rounder Shane Watson might have complained to the umpires about his 'doosra' delivery.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: April 27, 2009 05:51 PM IST
Read Time: 3 min
Karachi:
Ajmal disclosed that in the first match itself in Dubai the umpires had indicated to him that when he bowled the 'Doosra' his elbow had a little bend.
"After hearing them I was a bit surprised because I have been playing for years now and in international cricket since last year but no one has raised any doubts over my action. I debuted in 1996 in first class cricket," he added.
"I saw Watson speaking to the umpires who later spoke to me and said there was a problem," he said.
The Pakistani is the second off-spinner after South African Johan Botha to be reported by the ICC this month.
Ajmal said from Abu Dhabi that he was not disheartened as he knew there was nothing wrong with his bowling action even when he bowled the 'Doosra' that has got the Australians bamboozled in the ongoing one-day series in the Emirates.
Pakistan's coach Intikhab Alam also came down hard on the process adopted by the International cricket council on suspect bowling actions.
"I just don't understand this process and the way the umpires handled the whole issue. Ajmal has played in four countries and nobody raised any objections over his action.
Why now?" Alam said.
The former Test captain felt the ICC needed to introduce more consistently in their bowling action review system.
Rauf and Bowden, along with off-field officials Zameer Haider and Nadeem Ghauri, submitted a report to the ICC in which it was stated that, having monitored Ajmal's action over the two ODIs in Dubai, there was sufficient concern for it to be scrutinised further.
Ajmal, the ICC and the PCB will be sent footage of the bowler's action, and the bowler is required to present himself for testing by an ICC-approved biomechanist within 21 days.
Alam was confident Ajmal would be cleared and free to bowl the delivery in future matches.
He pointed out that Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan also bowled the 'Doosra' as did Indian Harbhajan Singh and both were cleared by the ICC.
"I don't agree that Ajmal bowls a different doosra, there is only one kind of doosra. Ajmal has hyper-mobility in his arm and I hope everything goes well for him."
Ajmal can continue to play for cricket until the Tests on his action are conducted.
If, during the examination, he bowls a single delivery with an elbow flexion in excess of 15 degrees, he will be suspended and ordered to undertake remedial work on his delivery motion.
A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said they would go by the ICC rules governing suspect bowling actions and do everything to get Ajmal cleared as he was a valuable player of the national team.
Meanwhile, sources in the PCB said Alam's criticism of the ICC system was unwarranted since three of the umpires involved in reporting Ajmal were Pakistanis and it was also a fact that the bowler had faced similar problems with his bowling action in the past at the domestic level also.
Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has been reported for a suspect bowling action by ICC match officials, feels Australian all-rounder Shane Watson might have complained to the umpires about his 'doosra' delivery.Ajmal disclosed that in the first match itself in Dubai the umpires had indicated to him that when he bowled the 'Doosra' his elbow had a little bend.
"After hearing them I was a bit surprised because I have been playing for years now and in international cricket since last year but no one has raised any doubts over my action. I debuted in 1996 in first class cricket," he added.
"I saw Watson speaking to the umpires who later spoke to me and said there was a problem," he said.
The Pakistani is the second off-spinner after South African Johan Botha to be reported by the ICC this month.
Ajmal said from Abu Dhabi that he was not disheartened as he knew there was nothing wrong with his bowling action even when he bowled the 'Doosra' that has got the Australians bamboozled in the ongoing one-day series in the Emirates.
Pakistan's coach Intikhab Alam also came down hard on the process adopted by the International cricket council on suspect bowling actions.
"I just don't understand this process and the way the umpires handled the whole issue. Ajmal has played in four countries and nobody raised any objections over his action.
Why now?" Alam said.
The former Test captain felt the ICC needed to introduce more consistently in their bowling action review system.
Rauf and Bowden, along with off-field officials Zameer Haider and Nadeem Ghauri, submitted a report to the ICC in which it was stated that, having monitored Ajmal's action over the two ODIs in Dubai, there was sufficient concern for it to be scrutinised further.
Ajmal, the ICC and the PCB will be sent footage of the bowler's action, and the bowler is required to present himself for testing by an ICC-approved biomechanist within 21 days.
Alam was confident Ajmal would be cleared and free to bowl the delivery in future matches.
He pointed out that Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan also bowled the 'Doosra' as did Indian Harbhajan Singh and both were cleared by the ICC.
"I don't agree that Ajmal bowls a different doosra, there is only one kind of doosra. Ajmal has hyper-mobility in his arm and I hope everything goes well for him."
Ajmal can continue to play for cricket until the Tests on his action are conducted.
If, during the examination, he bowls a single delivery with an elbow flexion in excess of 15 degrees, he will be suspended and ordered to undertake remedial work on his delivery motion.
A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said they would go by the ICC rules governing suspect bowling actions and do everything to get Ajmal cleared as he was a valuable player of the national team.
Meanwhile, sources in the PCB said Alam's criticism of the ICC system was unwarranted since three of the umpires involved in reporting Ajmal were Pakistanis and it was also a fact that the bowler had faced similar problems with his bowling action in the past at the domestic level also.
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Saeed Ajmal
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