Shakib Acknowledges His Illegal Bowling Action Was ‘Partly Intentional’

Shakib Al Hasan was banned last November while representing Surrey in the County Championship, following concerns over his bowling action. On Sunday’s episode of the ‘Beard Before Wicket’ podcast, he admitted that the illegal element of his action had been ‘partly intentional’.

An independent test at Loughborough University in December detected faults in his action, prompting the ECB to impose a bowling ban across all competitions. As per ICC rules, the restriction applied to international cricket as well.

Shakib said, ‘I believe I did it somewhat intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs in that match. I have never bowled that many overs in any Test. It was a four-day fixture against Somerset in Taunton and I was very tired.’

He mentioned fatigue from the Pakistan Tests, saying, ‘I had played two back-to-back Tests in Pakistan. After that series win, I joined the four-day match. I expected the umpire to warn me the first time, but he acted within the rules, and I did not object.’

He added, ‘I failed the test. After reviewing it myself, I understood what had gone wrong. I practised for a few weeks to rejoin Surrey. They supported me, and after two sessions I returned to normal. It felt surprisingly easy.’

Shakib bowled a total of 63.2 overs in that match for Surrey. He later received bowling clearance following a third assessment earlier this year. However, he was excluded from the Champions Trophy squad after failing the Chennai assessment, though the board confirmed he would be considered as a batter in all formats.

Glive24/SS