Experts working hard with Ajmal - PCB

Pakistan are hoping their lead spinner Saeed Ajmal will have his bowling action corrected before the World Cup as a team of experts was working very hard to ensure that he plays for the national team in next year's showpiece event.

The senior General Manager (medical and sports sciences) in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Dr Sohail Saleem, said that there would be some good news on Ajmal's front soon.

"There is definite improvement in Saeed's bowling action as the team of experts led by Saqlain Mushtaq is working in two sessions with him every day," Saleem said. "Saqlain's presence and advice has helped Saeed a lot and the target is to make him ready for a bowling action test before the World Cup," Saleem said.

The PCB has hired former offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq to help Ajmal remodel his bowling action in accordance with the ICC's new protocol for bowlers.

ICC allows a 15 degrees extension of the elbow while bowling Saeed in the bio-mechanics test went up to an average of 42 degrees. The offspinner was reported for his action in August after the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Saleem said that Ajmal had bowled with his normal action in the Tests in Brisbane.

"Now Saqlain has been getting him back to basics and has first worked on his action while bowling orthodox offbreaks and will then move onto his action when bowling the doosra."

Haroon Rasheed, the director of game development in the PCB, said that work on setting up the bio-mechanics lab at the NCA was progressing at full speed now.

"Bowlers with suspect actions have been a problem in domestic cricket for a while now, but now the board has decided to deal with his issue very seriously which is why setting up of the biomechanics lab is a top priority now."

Rasheed said the equipment for the bio-mechanics lab was already in Lahore and was being further upgraded in line with the new protocols of the ICC. He hoped that once the biomechanics lab was set up it would also be accredited by the ICC.