PCB says it stands behind Hafeez to rectify his bowling action

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday rubbished the media reports that the national cricket body was not backing world number one all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez to rectify his bowling action.

“The PCB would like to clarify that it stands behind Mohammad Hafeez and is lending all its support to Mohammad Hafeez to rectify his bowling action,” said a PCB press release calling the media report a deliberate attempt to mislead and defame the cricket board.

Muhammad Hafeez was reported for a suspect action after the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi last month and underwent an assessment on November 1 at Loughborough University in England.

The assessment revealed that a majority of Hafeez’s deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the ICC’s regulations.

This is the third time in three years that Hafeez has been suspended from bowling in international matches.

The PCB said that already a bowling action review committee had been set up where Ahsan Raza, Ali Zia, Saleem Jaffar, and Sajjad Akbar were its members.

Read More: Mohammad Hafeez suspended again for ‘illegal’ bowling action

“The committee has been tasked to provide all possible training and assistance to rectify his bowling action at par with the ICC (International Cricket Council) standard,” it said.

On the recommendations of the four-member committee, Mohammad Hafeez will work on his action at the National Cricket Academy, and after every 10 days will undergo a test at the biomechanics lab setup in LUMS. The committee will, therefore, analyze the reports of the tests, and further guide Mohammad Hafeez before he proceeds with the official test to the ICC, said the PCB.

It is apropos to note here that Hafeez was first suspended from bowling in December 2014. He was permitted to resume bowling in April 2015 following an independent reassessment where his action was found to be legal.

Hafeez was suspended for a second time after an independent assessment revealed that he had employed an illegal bowling action after being reported in the Galle Test v Pakistan in June 2015.

Read More: Spot-fixing is a crime, not a mistake: Hafeez

As this was his second suspension within 24 months of the initial suspension in December 2014, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket for 12 months from July 2015.

On 17 November 2016, Hafeez underwent a reassessment of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and was allowed to resume bowling after his action was found to be legal.