The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to extend Saeed Ajmal's stay in England to allow the off-spinner to work further on correcting his bowling action in a desperate bid to get him cleared before the 2015 World Cup.
"Saeed will remain in England for another week and continue the remedial work on his bowling action with Saqlain Mushtaq," a board official told PTI today.
"We now have just around 45 days to get Saeed's bowling action cleared by the International Cricket Council as we have to submit final 15-member squad for the World Cup in first week of January like other teams," the official said.
Saeed after working for over a month on remodelling his bowling action which was declared illegal by the ICC in September had gone to the UK for an informal biomechanic test in Loughborough but he failed to clear the test.
Although the biomechanic experts in their report to the PCB said that Saeed had greatly corrected his bowling action and was closer to the 15 degrees allowed by the ICC to extend their elbows while bowling but he needed to do more remedial work on his action.
"Saeed is a key player and we are doing everything possible to help him get back into international cricket. That is why he will remain in England with Saqlain for another week," the official said.
"Saqlain has given positive reports about the work done on him," the official added.
The PCB had told Saeed to remain in England for a week to work with Saqlain after the informal test failure.
The official said that the PCB would send Saeed to the ICC accredited biomechanic laboratory for another informal test at Loughborough as soon as they get clearance from Saqlain.
"We are hoping he clears the informal test this time so that we can request the ICC to have sent him for the review biomechanic test in December," the official stated.
He said Saeed's name would be sent in the preliminary squad of 30 players which has to be sent to the ICC for the World Cup by first week of December.
Saeed's bowling action was first reported after the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle last August and the ICC suspended him from bowling in international cricket in September after he failed the biomechanic test in Brisbane.
The PCB official said the report about the bowling action of Muhammad Hafeez was more positive and he should clear the informal test he is due to appear in also at Loughborough on November 24.
