LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to set a date for a formal biomechanics test of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal in England as the bowler is fully prepared to appear for it to get himself cleared.

Well informed sources told Dawn that now the PCB waits for a reply from the game’s governing body.

“The ICC has to appoint its own representative and set a date for the test.

“Ajmal believes he is fully prepared to clear it at any time, so, the PCB has decided to help him by all means,” the sources said.

“The panel of bowlers, including Saqlain Mushtaq which is working on Ajmal to remodel his bowling action, endorsed Ajmal’s claim but they are not confident about the effectiveness of his bowling,” the sources further revealed.

“Ajmal has started to master a new delivery called “carom” in which the bowler tries to spin the ball quickly with his middle finger. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is using this delivery these days,” they added.

“Yes, Ajmal has given up the idea to rectify his “doosra”, fearing he might be reported again, and decided to master a new delivery,” they further said.

As Ajmal has a plan to visit England in a next couple of days to attend a charity programme, which is being held there by his fans to generate funds for his cricket academy in Faisalabad, he has decided to undergo biomechanics Test in the UK instead of going to India or Australia.

Though pundits believe Ajmal has remote chances of clearing the test, the PCB has decided to back him fully to get him cleared.

The PCB has already announced a 15-member squad for the World Cup, which misses effective off-spinners like Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, whose action was also declared illegal by the ICC and who will play as a batsman only.

Pakistan’s bowling line consists of Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, M. Irfan, Ehsan Adil, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz. The sources said head coach Waqar Younis had great faith in the abilities of Wahab, so he supported his selection.

Published in Dawn January 11th , 2014

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