After former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian international umpire Anil Chaudhary has also declared the bowling action of Pakistani spinner Usman Tariq to be legal.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is set to witness a Pakistan–India clash on Sunday, and ahead of this high-voltage match, the most talked-about topic has been Usman Tariq’s bowling action.
Before the Pakistan–India encounter, Indian circles appear concerned about Pakistan’s spin attack. Whether on social media or in mainstream media, unnecessary questions are being raised about Usman Tariq’s action.
Usman Tariq’s bowling action is slightly different from conventional spinners, but he has been completely cleared by the International Cricket Council.
This is why Usman Tariq featured in the T20 World Cup match against the USA and delivered an impressive bowling performance.
Due to a brief pause in his bowling action, Indian critics have been targeting Usman Tariq. However, after Ashwin, Indian umpire Anil Chaudhary has now also responded to the questions being raised about the Pakistani spinner’s action.
Earlier, Ashwin had stated that if Usman Tariq pauses during his delivery, the batter has the right to inform the umpire that the bowler is stopping, which could create difficulties for the officials.
Speaking on an Indian digital show, Anil Chaudhary termed Usman Tariq’s action as correct and addressed the concerns raised against him.
Chaudhary said that Usman Tariq pauses on every delivery and that this pause is part of his natural action, so it is not an issue. However, a problem would arise if Usman were to change his action and deliver the ball without stopping.
He added that if Usman Tariq bowls outside his routine action, it could create trouble for him.
Anil Chaudhary cited past examples of players such as Andre Russell and others, stating that whenever bowlers deviated from their routine actions, they were stopped.
He further said that since Usman Tariq bowls all deliveries with the same action, there is no concern.
The host then asked Anil Chaudhary whether a batter could raise an objection if Usman Tariq pauses excessively while bowling.
In response, Chaudhary said this would also be judged according to the bowler’s routine action. If a clear change is observed in Usman’s action, the batter can refuse to play the ball and inform the umpire.
The host further asked what would happen if the batter refused to face the delivery but the umpire believed that Usman Tariq had not paused more than his routine action.
Anil Chaudhary replied that in such a case, the batter would be warned by the umpire for wasting time.
Earlier, Ashwin had also said that the legality of a bowling action can only be determined at an ICC testing center, but under ICC laws, an action with up to 15 degrees of elbow flexion is legal. As for pausing during the delivery, he believes it is completely legal.
