The bent elbow that shattered a dream

Most cricket pundits feel that Ajmal’s international career was as good as over after the suspension

KARACHI: Simply put, Saeed Ajmal is no longer the bowler that tormented batsmen with his fizzing off-breaks, sliders and doosras; and even though the lion-hearted 37-year old tried his best, he has run out of time in the pursuit of securing a berth in the World Cup squad.

Representing Pakistan A against an extremely average Kenya side, Ajmal looked a shadow of the bowler he once was. It was almost painful to hear the Faisalabad born argue staunchly about the ‘effectiveness’ of his new action, claiming that he still possessed a venomous bag of tricks with the carom ball added to the repertoire.

Subsequently, a series of contrasting statements by PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan baffled all, causing confusion on Ajmal’s future.

On the last day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold league final at Karachi’s National Stadium, Shaharyar jumped to the defence of the off-spinner by telling the media that Ajmal remained an asset and no one should judge him on the basis of a few overs that he delivered against the Kenyan team in Lahore.

The very next day, a committee headed by Shaharyar announced that Ajmal has withdrawn from the World Cup; in less than 24 hours, the chairman took a U-turn, turning Ajmal’s dream of participation in the coveted tournament into a mere pipe dream. But it was an eventuality that was extremely predictable.

Most cricket pundits had felt that Ajmal’s international career was as good as over after the suspension since fixing such a prominent kink in his action at his age was surely an insurmountable task.

The off-spinner had not nudged past the 15 degrees mark; he had quite simply blown away the limit on average by some 20 degrees.

The PCB did invest time, effort and money in an attempt to resurrect Ajmal’s career but the task turned out to be one beyond them and the once wily operator.

With the World Cup now out of bounds, the PCB must map out a plan of action for Ajmal in the days ahead, since the objective must not be to get his action cleared only as Pakistan need him to regain the guile and control that made him a world beater. If he cannot replicate the same or at least come close to it, Ajmal would need to move on himself or be moved on.

Saqlain Mushtaq will continue to ‘transform’ Ajmal but his stint must not be restricted to remedial work alone, the PCB must hand over some young talent for the remainder of Saqlain’s tenure.

All said and done, Pakistan must move on now and the time leading up to the flight Down Under must be utilised in first identifying and then honing the skills of the likes of Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Raza Hasan for the challenge that awaits them in alien conditions.

Back in 1992, leg-spinner and present spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed played a pivotal role in the historic triumph and his rich experience of the wickets in Australia and New Zealand must benefit the slow bowlers.

In limited opportunities across the three formats, the trio have held their own but Raza is yet to play the longest format and Yasir has only played a handful of matches in the limited overs formats. Babar is the most experienced of them but his consistency especially in ODI cricket is not guaranteed for now.

The competition between the three is set to be fierce and their performance in the upcoming pentangular tournament in Karachi may turn the scales in the favour of one or the other.

The bowling form of Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi might lure the selectors in selecting just one from the trio of tweakers as a pack of five fast bowlers is likely to make the squad.

Correction: An earlier version of the story mistakenly reported that Yasir Shah had not played for Pakistan in the limited overs formats. 

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