A file photo of Usman Tariq. — AFP
Former Pakistan captain and all-rounder Amir Sohail has defended the bowling action of spinner Usman Tariq as unique.
The unusual bowling action of the double-jointed spinner has created plenty of chatter in his first T20 World Cup, and now he goes into Sunday’s revived clash against India as one of Pakistan’s main weapons.
The 28-year-old’s bizarre bowling action was reported as illegal twice in the last two years, but was cleared by the International Cricket Council laboratory. His action carries an element of mystery as he pauses exaggeratedly before releasing the ball in a sling-shot manner.
Sohail’s remarks came in response to comments made by former Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin, who said that “batsmen have the right to leave the ball if a bowler stops during their action” and that “the batsman can claim he assumed the bowler has stopped throwing the ball.”
While both Sohail and Ashwin agreed that a batsman could leave the ball if the bowler halted during their delivery stride, Sohail pointed out that Tariq’s action was exceptional.
In Express News programme ‘Josh Jaga De’, Sohail explained, “Tariq’s tendency to stop in the middle of his delivery stride is rare, and batsmen cannot leave the ball once it has been bowled.”
Despite agreeing on the general principle that batsmen had the right to leave a ball before it was delivered, Sohail highlighted that batsmen were compelled to play once the ball was bowled. “If a batsman leaves the ball after it has been delivered, the umpire is likely to rule in favour of the bowler,” he added.
The former cricketer also drew a parallel between the rights of batsmen and bowlers, asserting that just as batsmen could leave the ball before delivery, bowlers had the right to stop mid-delivery if a batsman changed his guard or position.
Sohail concluded by advising teams to focus on strategies for batting against bowlers with unique actions, rather than delving into the intricacies of a bowler’s delivery stride.
Interestingly, Ashwin also himself termed the bowling action of Tariq “entirely legal”. “I believe that it is entirely legal,” Ashwin wrote on X, by explaining several factors of the action.
Tariq is unperturbed by the doubters. “I have two corners of my bowling arm elbow, which is rare,” Tariq told AFP.
“I have been cleared twice so I am confident that it’s legal. I have struggled this far and am not worried about such baseless questions,” he added.