Bilal Asif’s action has been cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the off-spinner was cited earlier this month during Pakistan’s one-day international clash with Zimbabwe.
At the assessment, it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension in all of Asif’s deliveries was well within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations.
He was reported after the third ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on October 5 and the independent assessment was performed at the Sri Ramachandra University testing centre in Chennai earlier this month.
The 30-year-old was a late addition to Pakistan’s ODI squad at the behest of Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who felt the offspinner could come in handy against England’s slew of left-handers.
Earlier, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was banned from bowling for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for the second time since November 2014.
He was initially reported after the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi last year and was subsequently banned after an independent analysis found his action to be illegal.
Hafeez was later cleared to bowl in April after changing his action but the part-time off-spinner was again reported by match officials for a suspect action during August’s Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Ace right-arm spinner Saeed Ajmal was also suspended from bowling after the ICC had declared his action as illegal in September 2014. But after going through assessment tests in Chennai on Jan 24, Ajmal was cleared to play by the ICC’s Technical Committee.
