Hafeez to miss third Test, set to undergo test on bowling action

Mohammad Hafeez will miss the third Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele to undergo a test on his bowling action. The offspinner was granted an Indian visa on Wednesday afternoon, and the ICC is expected to confirm a date for the test on Thursday. The PCB had earlier requested the ICC for an extension to the July 4 deadline for the test, on the grounds that Hafeez had not yet been granted an Indian visa to travel to the accredited testing centre in Chennai.

Hafeez was reported for a suspect action after the first Test in Galle. According to ICC regulations, he is allowed to bowl until the results of the tests are out and he bowled 14 overs in the second Test in Colombo, which Pakistan lost by seven wickets. He travelled to Pallekele, the venue for the third Test from July 3, to join the squad, but will now travel to Colombo before leaving the country for the test.

Hafeez was reported on June 21 and according to ICC regulations he needed to appear for testing within 14 days. He faces a one-year suspension from bowling if his elbow flex is found to be over the permissible 15-degree limit because it would be the second time his action was declared illegal in the last two years.

Hafeez had also been reported in November last year and then banned from bowling in December because he was found to have an elbow extension as high as 31 degrees. After a delay due to injury, Hafeez was cleared to bowl only this April following tests in Chennai.