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| May 30, 2005 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1426 |
Conditional clearance for Harbhajan
NEW DELHI, May 29: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given conditional clearance for Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh to bowl after being reported in March for throwing his doosra delivery. However, Harbhajan has been told he must stick to the action which was cleared during a bio-mechanical test undertaken in Australia in February.
The 24-year-old Harbhajan was reported for chucking during the second Test against Pakistan in Kolkata over his doosra, the delivery which spins away from a right-handed batsman, the opposite direction to an off break bowler’s stock ball.
He was previously reported during the second and final Test in Bangladesh in December.
An ICC-appointed bio-mechanical expert Marc Portus found changes in Harbhajan’s bowling action from the February test, but could not give a conclusive verdict due to the poor quality of television footage and camera angles in Kolkata.
“The analysis of the action used during the Pakistan match identifies some differences including the position of the feet and the speed of the delivery,” David Richardson, ICC general manager for cricket, said in the statement on Saturday.
“Should his action deteriorate, it is possible the match referees would again report him and this would raise the prospect of further bio-mechanical analysis,” he said.
The BCCI welcomed the decision. “BCCI firmly believes that no bowler is licensed to throw. But at the same time, if a prima facie case cannot be established against the bowler, he should be allowed to play with a free mind,” its secretary Karunakaran Nair said.—Reuters
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