THE suspension of senior all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez by the International Cricket Council over an illegal bowling action has come as a body blow to Pakistan cricket.

The seasoned opener, who was reported by on-field umpires in the Abu Dhabi Test against New Zealand last month, was taken to England for biomechanics tests and found guilty of bending his arm more than the stipulated ICC limit of 15 degrees.

Also read: Hafeez suspension hits Pakistan’s Cup hopes

It is, indeed, surprising and reflects rather poorly on the Pakistan Cricket Board that Hafeez, despite having been reported twice for suspect bowling — first in 2005 and again early this year in India during the Champions League competition — has continued playing for Pakistan which has now resulted in his abrupt suspension.

With barely two and a half months to go before the commencement of the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, it is unfortunate that Pakistan have now lost their two key bowlers, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, to this ‘chucking’ menace that has clearly jeopardised the national team’s chances of faring well in the 2015 extravaganza.

In fact, matters reached frenetic proportions when PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, soon after taking over, admitted to the media that as many as 25 bowlers with suspect bowling actions had been reported by umpires in domestic cricket over the past two seasons. That includes Test and ODI hopefuls such as Atif Maqbool, Adnan Rasool and some others which leaves Pakistan with little or no back-up for bowlers like Saeed and Hafeez.

It is pertinent to ask why the PCB failed to take prompt remedial measures to arrest this worrisome trend all this time. Besides denting our hopes in the World Cup, the repeated reporting of our bowlers has proved to be a huge embarrassment for a leading cricket nation like Pakistan. And while Hafeez features purely as a batsman in the current ODI series against New Zealand, the restriction on his bowling deprives Pakistan of fielding their strongest team combination in future games.

Published in Dawn December 9th , 2014