Pakistan captain Salman Agha defended off-spinner Usman Tariq’s unorthodox bowling action on Friday and called him the side’s “X factor” on the eve of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands in Colombo.

Tariq, who has played three T20 Internationals since his debut against South Africa in November, has been reported twice for a suspect bowling action in the Pakistan Super League. His bowling style culminates in him pausing near the crease before firing the ball in with a side-arm sling-shot action.

The 28-year-old claimed two wickets in his second T20 International, against Australia, and Australia batsman Cameron Green — one of his two victims in that match in Lahore — made a chucking gesture after being dismissed as he made his way off.

“I don’t understand why we are talking about his action because in my opinion it is a fair action,” Salman told reporters.

“He has been tested twice and he has been cleared,” he said.

“I think there is no problem in his action. Yes, he is the X factor of the team, and where we feel that we need an X factor, we will definitely use him.”

Having decided to boycott their Group A contest against defending champions India after Bangladesh were excluded from the tournament, Pakistan will have little margin for error in their bid to qualify for the Super 8 stage.

Apart from India, the group also contains the United States, who stunned Pakistan via the Super Over in the 2024 edition of the tournament.

Salman said they would have to be at their best even against second-tier teams like Namibia or the Netherlands.

“It is very important because you haven’t played much against these sides and you don’t really know their strength and weaknesses,” he said.

“So it is very, very important to bring your A game, and we as a team only think about how we can execute our plans for 40 overs.”