KARACHI, Nov 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to set up a special committee to deal with pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s suspect bowling action.

PCB Director Brig Munawwar Rana said a letter had been sent to the ICC requesting that any inquiry into Shoaib’s bowling action be dealt as a special case.

“Our point of view is very clear. We feel there is no problem at all with Shoaib’s bowling action and he is not violating any cricket law,” Munawwar told Reuters.

“His problem lies in his peculiar physiology with respect to hyper-mobility.

“What we have asked the ICC to do is appoint a sub-committee of its cricket committee which should look into this case and than make its recommendations back to the Executive Board,” he added.

Shoaib, 26, was reported for a suspect bowling action for the third time since December 1999 after the recent triangular tournament in Sharjah.

But the PCB has made it clear that before any further steps are taken the ICC should give a clear decision on a medical report prepared on Shoaib earlier this year by the University of Western Australia’s department of bio-mechanics.

Munawwar said Shoaib had been put through stage one of the ICC bowling action review process and experts had declared that he did not throw the ball but had a physiological problem of hyper-mobility in the joints of his bowling arm.

“The main thing is there is no capacity in the present ICC rules to deal with a special case like that of Shoaib, which is why we are asking for the sub-committee to be constituted,” Rana said.

The PCB has said it would support Shoaib if he resorted to the courts to try and have his controversial bowling action declared legal.

But Munawwar added that although the PCB had nothing against the ICC appointing West Indian Michael Holding as bowling advisor to Shoaib, it was not appropriate at this time.

“We have said in our letter that Holding is among the greats and greatly respected in the cricket world and we share that feeling for him,” he said.

“But we don’t think at this stage his coming to Pakistan will serve any purpose.”

Holding is expected to visit Pakistan later this month.—Reuters