The national selection committee has named banned spinner Saeed Ajmal in Pakistan A side for remaining two matches against Kenya so that he can prove his modified action is clear in match situation as well.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants to make sure that Ajmal’s modified action is clear before he is sent again for another official International Cricket Council (ICC) test.
PCB’s illegal bowling action committee feels that Ajmal’s real test will come in match situation where he will be required to break the ball and take wickets.
“Ajmal has modified his action but we want to know how much it would work in match situation,” a PCB illegal bowling action committee official said while speaking to Sport360.
“Clearing a test in laboratory is easy because there is no pressure but these matches against Kenya would serve as litmus test for Ajmal while it would also make the picture clearer for PCB that where does Ajmal stands right now.”
The committee official further added that by the look of things Ajmal’s action seems to be clean as far as normal off-spin bowling is concerned but the real issue would be bowling the variations especially ‘doosra’.
“Ajmal has taken nearly 75% wickets in international cricket while bowling ‘doosra’ and it’s a delivery which has made bowlers suspicious as well in recent crackdown against spinners. The big question is can he bowl the ‘doosra’ clearly and even if he does then whether or not that ball has the similar bite and turn for which Ajmal is known for,” the official stated.
