Pakistan cricket authorities prepared for worst in Saeed Ajmal case

Karachi: Pakistani cricket authorities are prepared for the worst possible scenario in the Saeed Ajmal bowling action case.

An official in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said today that Ajmal had joined the Pakistan squad in Sri Lanka for the final one-day international.

"We have been told we will be informed about the findings of his bowling action tests conducted in Brisbane in seven to eight days," the official told PTI.

"The Brisbane lab will first send the report to the ICC who will than as per protocol inform us," he added.

The official conceded that the board was prepared for the worst possible scenario since it had now become clear that the ICC had decided to come down hard on bowlers with suspect action.

"The worst we are expecting is that Saeed may be stopped from playing and be told to remodel his bowling action. If that happens we anticipate it will take around 45 to 60 days for him to complete this process of remodelling his action and getting it cleared by the ICC," he said.

The official said that the second scenario was that Ajmal might be advised to refrain from bowling certain deliveries like the doosra and work on his action while delivering them.

"We also can't rule out the fact that his action could be cleared on basis of the tests in Brisbane but it is best to prepare for the worst," he added.