Mohammed Hafeez again reported for suspect action, another ban on the cards?

Mohammed Hafeez again reported for suspect action, another ban on the cards?: Pakistani all rounder Mohammed Hafeez has been reported for a suspect bowling action once again following the end of Galle test. Hafeez bowled 20 overs in the match and picked up two wickets thereby helping his side overhaul Sri Lanka by 10 wickets.

According to the ICC’s regulations for bowlers reported a second time within a period of a year, if Hafeez’s action is found to be illegal once again he faces a bowling ban for a period of at least a year, only after which he will be eligible to apply for a reassessment of his action.

He now needs to undergo a test within 21 days of the receipt of the official report and will be allowed to bowl until the results are out. Hafeez had been reported for a suspect action after the Abu Dhabi Test against New Zealand in November last year, and in the tests carried out in December, 2014 his action was found to be illegal following tests at an ICC accredited centre in Loughborough, England.

The findings suggested that his elbow had an extension up to 31 degrees, far above the permitted limit of 15 degrees. Hafeez tried to remodel his action at 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 a positive report on the analysis of his remodeled action in Chennai. Since then, he has bowled in nine matches in Bangladesh, and also in the ODI series at home against Zimbabwe, and in the 1st test vs Sri Lanka.