Former Pakistan great questions Shaheen Afridi’s bowling action
Former Pakistan Test cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz has raised doubts over the legality of spearhead Shaheen Afridi’s bowling action. For Nawaz, there is an element of doubt whether Shaheen’s action is legally correct or not.
The 73-year-old believes when the Pakistan speedster releases the ball, his wrists tend to border on the legally allowed limit of 15 degrees.
Nawaz expressed his doubt during an interview with ‘Metro News’, a local news channel, where he said Shaheen Afridi could get in trouble at some stage if the ICC looks closely into his bowling action.
Shaheen Afridi has been exceptional for Pakistan.
Sarfaraz Nawaz raises doubts on Shaheen Afridi’s bowling action
“I have noticed it a lot of times, when Afridi bowls wrist delivery, his action becomes doubtful,” said the former cricketer.
“His coaches must notice this by watching his bowling clips. It is the right time to work on his action, otherwise, I fear, someday maybe his action gets reported,” he added on Shaheen, who has now played 23 Tests, 38 ODIs and 39 T20Is for Pakistan.
Shaheen Shah Afridi kay coaches un kay action per ghoor karain, wrist ka masaala lagta hay, ziada wickets llainay per mushkil main aa saktay hain, Sarfraz Nawaz.. @TheRealPCB @iramizraja #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/vhvz8yW81c
— Naseem Rajput (@Rajput13Naseem) March 21, 2022
An accidental leader of Pakistan’s in-transition fast-bowling unit, this is not the first time that the 22-year-old quick has faced such question marks on his bowling action.
Last year, during the tour of West Indies, few of the cricket fans had put the talented bowler’s action under the scanner as well, with one of them posting a small clip that did make Shaheen Afridi’s wrist snap a topic of suspicion.
Is he chucking?
pic.twitter.com/9TnDwKbTSU
— No caption needed (@jabjabavas) August 15, 2021
As of now, no ICC match official has reciprocated in the matter and found anything remotely illegal in Shaheen’s bowling action. According to the ICC laws, no bowler can flex his elbow at the point of his release by more than 15 degrees. If the match officials do find something suspicious in a bowler’s action, they submit a report to the ICC, which then follows up with necessary steps.
“An Illegal Bowling Action is where a player is throwing rather than bowling the ball. This is defined by the ICC as being where the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released,” the ICC law pertinent to illegal bowling action states.
“Match Officials in international cricket use the naked eye and their cricketing experience to decide whether they believe a player may be using an Illegal Bowling Action and, if so, they will submit a report.”
Notably, Shaheen Afridi was awarded the Men’s Cricketer of the Year by ICC for his outstanding performances across formats in 2021.