REUTERS: Pakistan's ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who was cleared to bowl after passing biomechanic tests on his remodelled action, said he was not an automatic selection for the World Cup in the event a player in the 15-man squad was injured.
The bowling actions of Ajmal and Sohag Gazi of Bangladesh were deemed legal by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday, a week before the start of the World Cup.
The ICC said Ajmal and Bangladesh spinner Gazi had been re-tested in Chennai last month and cleared to resume bowling in international cricket.
“At the retests, it was revealed that the amount of elbow extensions in both the off-spinners' bowling actions for all their deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance...” the world governing body said.
But Ajmal, who had pulled out of Pakistan's World Cup preliminary squad in December, said he was fully backing the 15-man squad which is already in Australia and would not consider himself an automatic selection if a player suffers an injury.
“I do not want to get back into the team on the basis of my past performances. I want it to be a merit-based selection. Obviously if an emergency arises, I am available for the World Cup even with my modified action although I would like to do more work on it,” he told reporters in Lahore.
“I am really delighted today at my action being cleared but I want to return to top cricket when totally comfortable I can repeat my old performances,” Ajmal said.
“It has been a hard time for me and it is not easy to have had my World Cup plans disrupted. But the bad times are now over and it is the start of a new phase of cricket for me,” he added.
Ajmal, who has taken 178 test, 183 one-day international and 85 Twenty20 wickets is likely to return to the national side against Bangladesh in April.
“I don't have any plans to retire and want to play for another three to four years,” he said.
Pakistan, World Cup winners in 1992, begin their campaign against arch-rivals and defending champions India in Adelaide on Feb. 15.
