LAHORE: Another case erupts to expose Pakistan’s poor domestic system as yet another off-spinner Bilal Asif has been reported for suspect bowling action following the third ODI against Zimbabwe.

Bilal becomes the third Pakistan off-spin bowler within a year’s time to have been reported for suspect bowling action.

The development has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to recall in-form all-rounder Shoaib Malik as 16th player for the upcoming Test series against England starting on Oct 13 in the UAE.

However, not only has Malik never been a useful player in Test cricket, his long absence of over five years from the longer version of the game makes his selection further questionable.

Notwithstanding his shabby Test record, his recent performances in the shorter version of the game against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka were phenomenal which might have played a role in his induction into the Test squad.

On the other hand, newcomer Bilal made headlines with his sparkling performance in the third ODI against Zimbabwe recording impressive figures of 5 for 25 to help Pakistan earn a seven-wicket victory. However, hours after the match, match officials reported the off-spinner for suspect bowling action.

“Pakistan’s Bilal Asif has been reported with a suspect illegal bowling action during the third and final One-day International against Zimbabwe, which Pakistan won by seven wickets in Harare on Monday to claim the series 2-1,” stated the ICC in a press release issued on Tuesday.

“The match officials’ report, which was handed over to the Pakistan team management, cited concerns about the legality of the 30-year-old’s bowling action.

“Bilal’s bowling action will now be scrutinised further under the ICC process relating to suspect illegal bowling actions reported in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is required to undergo testing within 14 days, and, during this period, Bilal is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are known,” it further said.

Surprisingly, Bilal’s suspect action was never reported in any domestic event by any referee or umpire, despite the fact that there had been speculations about his bowling action in the cricket circles particularly after Bilal played in Sialkot’s last match in the National T20 Cup staged last month.

Firstly, the umpires and referees overlooked the off-spinner’s suspect bowling action, then the national selection committee decided to pick him just because, it is believed, that Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq recommended the new off-spinner, since the captain wanted a lethal off-spinner to use him as a weapon against England batsmen who traditionally face trouble in dealing with quality spin bowlers.

Meanwhile, it may be mentioned that earlier the ICC suspended Pakistan’s ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and then all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez before the 2015 World Cup, dealing a huge blow to Pakistan bowling attack.

And now newcomer Bilal has also met the same fate and that too at the start of his international career mainly due to PCB’s ambivalence towards initiating any system which could test bowlers before they are launched at the international level.

Umpires Jeremiah Matibiri of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka’s Ruchira Palliyaguruge reported Bilal’s action during the match to match referee David Jukes of England, according to French news agency AFP.

Intikhab confirmed Bilal’s action has been questioned. “The match officials have reported a few of Bilal’s deliveries as suspect,” Intikhab said.

“It’s disappointing for a new player who has just made his mark at the international level,” he said.

On the other hand, the PCB also issued a press release on Tuesday but did not mention that the new off-spinner was reported for suspect bowling action. It only said that batting all-rounder Malik had been inducted into the squad as 16th player against England.

Though Malik remained highest run-getter in the just-ended ODI series against Zimbabwe, his past performance in Tests is not that impressive.

Malik, veteran of 32 Tests, has scored 1,606 runs at a mediocre average of 33.45 while his bowling performance has never been something to write home about with the all-rounder, who played his last Test against England in Birmingham in August, 2010, bagging just 21 wickets at a very poor average of 61.47.

Says the PCB press release about the induction of Malik into the Test squad: “PCB Chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan has approved inducting Shoaib Malik as the 16th member of the Test squad against England subsequent to recommendation made by the national selection committee headed by Haroon Rashid.

“Manager Intikhab had made the request to the chief selector, saying that he and head coach Waqar Younis were of the same view over retaining Shoaib Malik given his present form in T20Is and the ODIs,” it stated.

“Following Intikhab’s request, I spoke with my fellow selectors and there was unanimity over retaining Malik keeping in mind his current batting form and the off-spin bowling option that could be handy in the all-important forthcoming Test series against England,” said Haroon Rashid in the official statement.

Published in Dawn, October 7th , 2015

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