LAHORE: Banned Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal on Monday expressed optimism for an early comeback to international cricket and also hoped he would be cleared to bowl by the authorities before the 2015 World Cup.

Speaking at a press conference here, Ajmal said though the news of his suspension (by the International Cricket Council over an illegal bowling action) was shocking for him, now he had recovered from the disappointment and hoped to stage a resounding comeback for the World Cup.

“When the ICC announced the decision of my suspension I became really disappointed. However, it was a temporary setback and now I have regained my composure, and hope to make a strong comeback in the World Cup,” a confident-looking Ajmal told reporters.

“Currently, I am working [concerning my bowling action] with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches and soon our senior [former] off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq is coming to Pakistan to help me come out of this crisis,” the 36-year-old spinner added.

“Saqlain, a legendary spinner, has been bowling ‘doosra’ like me and definitely his coaching and guidance will help me a lot,” Ajmal, a veteran of 35 Tests and 111 ODIs, said.

“Apart from working with Saqlain I will feature in domestic cricket so that I can test out things before the PCB decides to send me to the ICC tests.”

Ajmal’s action was reported by field umpires during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month. Later, the ICC sent him to a biomechanics lab in Brisbane, Australia for tests.

On the basis of the lab’s report, which declared Ajmal’s bowling action illegal as almost all his deliveries including ‘doosra’ were spotted to be bowled with an arm bend exceeding well over the 15 degrees allowed by the ICC, the bowler was suspended on Sept 9.

To a question, Ajmal said the World Cup was still several months away and it was important for Pakistan to first focus on the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand.

“Pakistan is blessed with great talent in the game of cricket and so I hope the Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) will find my replacement, who can perform better than me in the upcoming series [against Australia],” Ajmal stated.

Responding to a question on the World Cup, Ajmal said it was a wrong perception that the wickets in Australia and New Zealand, hosts of the mega event, would only suit fast bowlers.

“I believe spinners will also be effective on those wickets so they are important, too,” Ajmal stressed.

Published in Dawn, September 16th , 2014