Head coach of Pakistan Cricket Board Saqlain Mushtaq wants the International Cricket Council (ICC) to look at the present 15-degree arm/elbow extension rule for bowlers. In international cricket, the ICC has imposed a legal maximum of 15 degrees of elbow joint flexibility – Anything beyond that will be punishable and can lead to a breach. This rule is applicable at the time that the bowler’s arm crosses above shoulder level and the ball is delivered. Saqlain Mushtaq wants ICC to review 15-degree elbow rule
‘How did ICC experts reach this conclusion?’: Saqlain wants 15-degree elbow rule to be reviewed
Saqlain has claimed that this kind of law affects the off-spinners to perform with their strength. “I would like to know how the ICC experts reached this conclusion of allowing only 15-degrees latitude to bowlers. Did they do research on Asian players, Caribbean players, others because everyone is different”.
“Asian players’ bodies are different, they tend to have more flexibility in their arms and some have hypermobile joints. If you look at Caribbean or English players their bodies are different,” Saqlain said in an interview.
I have seen players who used to bowl off-spin now becoming leg-spinners: Saqlain
Saqlain Mushtaq wants ICC to review 15-degree elbow rule. Saqlain proposed that the current angle is too little to encourage youngsters to well verse their career in off-spin bowling and Finger spin is been discouraged.
“I think the ICC should review this law because the 15-degrees latitude is too little. It is discouraging players from the art of off-spin bowling. I personally believe that one can bowl off-breaks, doosra, and topspin even within the law but since it came out I have seen players who used to bowl off-spin now becoming leg-spinners or wrist spinners“.
“It is an ongoing trend in white-ball formats that teams want to have maximum wrist spinners like India has Chahal and Yadav, Australia has Adam Zampa and Stephenson, England has Adil Rashid, etc…And this is discouraging players from taking up the art of off-spin bowling,” he added.
Saqlain Mushtaq used to bowl right-arm off-break and he picked up a total of 488 wickets in Tests and ODIs combined. He was exceptional with the bowl and he always used to off-spin in the opposite direction which confuses batsmen, making it one of his lethal weapons.
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