Harbhajan's action still under ICC scrutiny

Contrary to reports that have appeared in sections of the Indian media, Harbhajan Singh's action has not been given the all-clear by the International Cricket Council. What's more, he is still very much under the spotlight.

Cricinfo has learnt that the ICC is on the verge of appointing a biomechanical expert to determine whether there is any discrepancy between Harbhajan's action as seen in the laboratory and as seen in match situations. The result of this process will determine whether they will ask Harbhajan to appear once again for testing in laboratory conditions. At any rate, it has emerged that the ICC has not, at this stage, either given a blanket approval, or suspended investigations, into Harbhajan's action.

Harbhajan was reported for a suspect action on March 20, the final day of the second Test against Pakistan at Kolkata, when his doosra, the delivery that leaves the right-hander, was reported again. This meant that, under the new procedures for dealing with suspect actions, he would have to appear before an ICC-appointed panel within 21 days to take the process forward. However, this 21-day period comes into effect from the time the Indian board received the official communication from the ICC, and not 21 days from March 20 as widely believed. This 21-day period is now coming to an end, although time has not quite run out yet.

The ICC has not acted in haste, because they already have a library of biomechanical data on Harbhajan. When Harbhajan was first reported for a suspect action, back in 1998, he travelled to England and spent some time with Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England offspinner. More recently, he was at the University of Western Australia under the watchful eyes of Bruce Elliott, and was filmed in great detail. Aside from this the ICC also has plenty of footage from live-match situations.