KARACHI, Aug 23: Pakistan paceman Shabbir Ahmed, who claimed a five-wicket haul on Saturday on his Test debut against Bangladesh, has paid tribute to West Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding for reviving his career.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board sent me to Holding to work out any deficiency in my bowling action four years ago, and his advice helped me a lot,” said Shabbir. “If I had not gone to get Holding’s help, perhaps my career would have been affected.”

Shabbir was reported twice by International Cricket Council (ICC) match officials for a suspect bowling action in 1999 after taking part in One-day International tournaments in Toronto and Sharjah.

His case was referred to the ICC bowling action review committee in November of that year.

“Even when I was reported for my action, I never gave up hope and worked hard on modifying it,” said the 27-year-old, who made his one-day debut at Toronto in 1999.

“I lost a couple of yards of pace because of the modification process, but I have covered that with my height,” added the six-foot five-inch bowler from Khanewal.—Reuters