Hasnain banned from bowling due to illegal action

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been banned from bowling after biomechanical testing in Lahore confirmed his action was illegal, having first been reported during a stint with the Sydney Thunder last month.

The testing at Lahore's University of Management Sciences on January 21 revealed Hasnain breached the ICC's 15-degree limit for elbow extension on his "good length delivery, full length delivery, slow bouncer and bouncer".

The ban will rule the 21-year-old speedster who regularly tops the 145kph mark out of Pakistan's home series against Australia next month.

He has also been banned from bowling in the Pakistan Super League and will instead begin immediate remedial work on the action.

Hasnain had played the first three games of the competition taking 3-76 for the Quetta Gladiators while analysis on his action was completed.

Hasnain's bowling was reported by umpire Gerard Abood after his BBL debut with the Thunder on January 2. At the time he had already played in 70 T20 matches around the world, including 18 at international level, as well as eight ODIs.

His BBL career began with a triple-wicket maiden and Hasnain finished the game against the Adelaide Strikers with 3-20 from his four overs. Umpire Abood was at square leg for all of Hasnain's deliveries in that match.

The length of Hasnain's bowling ban remains unclear – he will have to prove under laboratory testing that the delivery types found to be illegal can be bowled within the ICC regulations to resume international or top-flight domestic cricket.

If he is found to be using an illegal action for a second time within two years, that would trigger an automatic one-year ban.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it would appoint a coach to being work on his action with a view to making him eligible again "as quickly as practically possible".

Image Id: 06C81DFFC06A407F8969172B53FAFA6C Image Caption: Hasnain's action was first reported in the BBL // Getty

"The PCB has discussed the report with its own bowling experts and is confident that the problem can be resolved. The PCB will now appoint a bowling consultant who will work with Mohammad Hasnain so that he can rectify his bowling action and be ready for a reassessment," a PCB statement read.

"Hasnain is an asset for Pakistan and one of the very few bowlers to consistently click 145kph. As such, and keeping his future and Pakistan's interest at the forefront, the PCB, on the recommendation of the HBL PSL 2022 Technical Committee, has decided he will not be allowed to continue to participate in the HBL Pakistan Super League.

"Instead, he will use this time to work with the PCB-appointed bowling consultant to modify his bowling action so that he can apply for a reassessment and become eligible to return to international cricket as quickly as practically possible."

CA's regulations mandate a minimum of 90 days before a bowler can have their action re-assessed, but that applies only to CA-run domestic competitions.  

The ICC regulations for bans resulting from reports in international cricket allow a bowler to apply for a formal re-assessment 'at any time'.

No detail was provided on how far beyond the 15-degree limit Hasnain was found to be, and it is unclear how much remedial work his action will require.

Hasnain made his international debut against Australia in Sharjah in March 2019 and in October that year became the youngest player ever to take a T20 international hat-trick in a match against Sri Lanka.

He would otherwise have been in contention to feature in Pakistan's three ODIs and a T20 against Aaron Finch's side in Lahore that follow the upcoming Test series.

He will also be unable to bowl in other T20 leagues around the world until cleared, with ICC members obliged to formally recognise bans imposed by other national cricket federations.

Hasnain played four more games for the Thunder after his action was reported while waiting to be tested – as is allowed under Cricket Australia's regulations – although it became widely known among players his bowling was under scrutiny.

Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques told Hasnain "nice throw, mate" repeatedly during a fiery Sydney derby on January 15 in what was Hasnain's final match for the Thunder in BBL|11.

In his five games with the Thunder, the 21-year-old claimed figures of 7-110 from 18.2 overs with an economy rate of 6.00 and average of 15.71.

In an unusual case complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hasnain had his bowling action deemed illegal after testing in Pakistan despite being reported in Australia.

In normal circumstances a bowler must be tested an ICC-approved facility within 14 days. In Australia that facility is the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, but Hasnain was unable to enter Queensland with the state's border shut to him.

Hasnain and other Pakistani players in the BBL were then recalled early by the PCB ahead of their own domestic T20 competition starting, so CA and the PCB agreed Hasnain would be tested at a facility in Lahore but CA would retain final say on the analysis.

That testing took place 19 days after the initial report at the Lahore University of Management Sciences – one of five ICC-accredited testing venues worldwide – and a further fortnight for the results to be delivered to CA for analysis and verification.

"CA's independent expert is satisfied that Mohammad replicated his bowling action in the controlled environment during testing and that the results are accurate," head of cricket operations Peter Roach said.  

"Given the collaborative nature of this process, we have full confidence the PCB will support Mohammad to rectify his action.

"We wish Mohammad the best over coming months and look forward to welcoming him back to Australia in the future."

Cricket NSW's head of male cricket Michael Klinger said he hoped Hasnain would return to the Thunder in future.

"Hasnain was a very popular member of the Sydney Thunder and made a positive impression both on and off the field," Klinger said in a statement.

"The Thunder fully support his endeavours to clear his action and hope to see him back at the club in the future."