LAHORE: Pakistan’s ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was delighted after his clearance from the ICC over his bowling action and expressed his desire to play at the World Cup team.

The 37-year-old’s remodelled action was cleared by cricket’s governing body on Saturday and he said he would give his 100 per cent to the team if the national selection committee decides to use his services for the game’s showpiece event.

Read: Saeed Ajmal's bowling action declared 'legal'

“Everyone wants to play at the World Cup but we should understand the current situation,” Ajmal told reporters here. “When I feel I can give my hundred per cent, I will like to make my comeback but Pakistan need me during the World Cup, I am available to join the team.”

Ajmal pulled out of Pakistan’s World Cup preliminary squad in December with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ruling out any chance for him to get his action cleared before the Feb. 14-March 29 tournament.

But he can still make the World Cup provided any of the squad players were to get injured.

Also read Ajmal needs to play domestic cricket for Pakistan return: Shaharyar

“I pray that Pakistan are successful at the World Cup but I don’t want the team to suffer an injury crisis for me to play at the event,” Ajmal, who has taken 178 Test and 183 One-day International wickets, added.

Ajmal also quashed his chances of replacing all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who is also banned from bowling due to an illegal action. Hafeez was due to appear for a test on his bowling action on Friday but missed it due to an injury with the PCB asking the ICC for a test on a later date.

“I wish Hafeez recovers quickly because the team needs him both as a bowler and a batsman and I wouldn’t like him to come back from the World Cup on fitness grounds,” he said. “For now, I’m targeting the Bangladesh series for my international return.”

The series against Bangladesh, scheduled to be played in April, is currently in doldrums because of strained relations between the PCB and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Ajmal said that he didn’t have any plans to retire from the game. “If I wanted to retire, I wouldn’t have bowled 40 overs daily just to get my action cleared,” he said. “I want to play international cricket for at least three to four years.”

Ajmal denied there was a conspiracy against him in preventing him from getting to the World Cup, saying “clear intentions” can help one overcome the difficult times and thanked his mentor Saqlain Mushtaq and NCA head coach Mohammad Akram in getting his action right.

After being accused of ‘chucking’ during the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in September last year, Ajmal failed to clear the bio-mechanics test in Australia. But his remodelled action was cleared by an ICC-accredited laboratory in Chennai.

And Ajmal vowed he will be working getting his key weapon — the ‘doosra’ — right in the next month. “I’m working on all my deliveries and in a month’s time, I’ll prove all my deliveries are correct,” he said.

He hoped that the PCB would start its own bio-mechanics lab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

“The PCB has a number of cases of suspect bowlers and the lab will be essential of removing the faults of the bowlers at home,” Ajmal said. “Since I’ve passed through the process of clearing my action, I’m willing to assist the PCB in this matter.”

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2015

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