Hafeez banned from bowling for 12 months

Pakistan will have to do without Mohammad Hafeez’s offbreaks for the next 12 months – AFP

ESPNCricinfo: Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since November 2014. He will be able to have his action reassessed by the ICC only after this period is completed.

Hafeez, 34, had undergone testing at an ICC-accredited lab in Chennai on July 6, after his action was reported following the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in June. The tests revealed Hafeez’s action exceeded the permitted 15-degree limit.

“As this report has constituted the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a suspension, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” the ICC said. 

“Hafeez is entitled to appeal any procedural aspect of an independent assessment that has led to this automatic suspension. However, only after the expiry of this one-year period will he be entitled to approach the ICC for a reassessment of his bowling action.”

Hafeez had been reported for a suspect action after the Abu Dhabi Test against New Zealand in November last year, and in December his action was found to be illegal following tests at an ICC accredited centre in Loughborough, England. He was found to have an elbow extension up to 31 degrees.

He underwent remedial work at a biomechanics lab in Chennai, but failed an unofficial test on his action on January 3. Later that month the PCB requested the ICC to retest Hafeez’s action in February in Brisbane, so that he could bowl at the World Cup if cleared, but he was ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury. Hafeez was finally cleared to bowl again in international cricket on April 21, after more tests on his action in Chennai.

After he was reported following the Galle match, Hafeez bowled in the second Test in Colombo, where he took one wicket before travelling to Chennai to have his action tested. He missed the third Test in Pallekele as a result, but returned to play the first two ODIs in Sri Lanka, taking 4 for 41 and 2 for 61.

Defensive mindset cost Pakistan: Former players

KARACHI: Former Pakistan players have called on the national team to play attacking cricket if they want to win the five-match series against hosts Sri Lanka as it currently stands square at 1-1.

Pakistan were taken by surprise by opener Kusal Perera’s 68-run blitz, in which he scored the joint-fastest fifty off 17 balls before the men in green managed to make a comeback in Sri Lanka’s mid-chase.

However, they failed to attack when it mattered the most, as the Islanders had just gone from 92-0 to 159-5 with 129 runs still needed.

Erstwhile, off-spinner Tauseef Ahmed believes that skipper Azhar Ali ran out of ideas once he came under pressure at the beginning and towards the end when Sri Lanka were close to chasing down the score. “I feel the captaincy was not up to the mark in the second ODI,” Tauseef told The Express Tribune. “We all know that Perera jolted Pakistan with extraordinary hitting, but they could have tried things a bit differently by bowling short-pitch to him. Credit must be given to Perera by how he blew Pakistan away.”

Tauseef added that left-arm medium pacer Rahat Ali helped Pakistan come back into the game in his second spell with three wickets but was unable to get required support from the other end. “Rahat was brilliant and nearly brought Pakistan back into contention,” he said. “Towards the end, Sri Lanka had just three wickets in hand and needed to score three runs per over, but Azhar went on the defensive.”

Tauseef backed Yasir Shah, stating that he has been doing a good job, even if not picking up wickets, as one-day cricket has become difficult now and urged Pakistan to rely more on off-spinners — Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam — against the numerous left-handers of Sri Lanka. “The bowlers’ utilisation left a lot to be desired and we must make full use of our off-spin options because Sri Lanka have six left-handers,” remarked Tauseef.

On the other hand, former captain Rashid Latif went easy on Azhar, stressing that he did not have match-winning options in bowlers in the match.

He added that Sri Lanka are still weak as a team and Pakistan have made them seem tougher than they actually were.

“Sri Lanka aren’t that strong a side but the way we’re playing against them, we’re making life difficult for ourselves,” said Latif.

The ex-captain urged the Pakistani batsmen to play positive cricket and try to score over 300 and avoid thinking too much about the new fielding restrictions. “We scored slowly and never really got going until the last 10 overs of our batting,” he opined. “ODI cricket has changed and sadly we haven’t adapted to the new demands so far.”