Shabbir faces 1-yr ban if he fails test on action

Pakistan’s fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed faces an automatic suspension for one year from international cricket if he fails a biomechanics test on December 9 on his suspect bowling action.

“We will know by December 10 or 11 if Shabbir is allowed to continue bowling in international cricket or he stands suspended for a period of 12 months because he has been reported twice this year for his action,” Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) director of cricket operations Saleem Altaf said on Tuesday.

Altaf said the ICC had asked biomechanics expert Bruce Elliot to compare the footage of Shabbir’s bowling action in lab tests carried out in September and the first Test in Multan against England earlier this month. “If it is found that he has gone way past the 15 degrees tolerance level allowed by the ICC during the Multan Test than he stands to be suspended. But we are hopeful that the tests will find no real detriment in his bowling action.”