Waqar questions timing of chucking crackdown

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis feels the ICC should have waited until after the World Cup next year before cracking down on suspect bowling actions, given the number of players and teams affected.

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis feels the ICC should have waited until after the World Cup next year before cracking down on suspect bowling actions, given the number of players and teams affected.

Pakistan have the most notable case in Saeed Ajmal, who was banned earlier this year after tests found his action to be more than double the legal flex limit. It is doubtful that he will have his action remodeled in time for the World Cup.

Aside from Ajmal, other high-profile banned spinners include Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Sri Lanka's Sachithra Senanayake, both of whom are important cogs in their ODI sides, and Waqar feels this will detract from the ICC event.

Waqar told AFP: "Is this the right time to enforce the protocols and the technology? I am asking this because every team plans ahead of the World Cup, and the suspensions will badly hit the teams whose bowlers got suspended or questioned.

"I mean, the protocols and the technology should have been enforced after the World Cup."

The former paceman felt that the doosra action, the most controversial issue, was always going to be a problem: "When a bowler bowls a doosra, his elbow must bend beyond limits, that's natural and I think a solution must be found."

Waqar also commented on Mohammad Hafeez's action after the all-rounder was reported at the Champions League T20: "I know they have reported him under a process but that is confidence-shattering for one of our key bowlers."

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