Published: Feb 02, 2017, 11:23 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 02, 2017, 11:23 PM (IST)
Saeed Ajmal represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, taking 178 wickets at 28.10. In 113 ODIs he managed 184 wickets at 22.72. With an action somewhat reminiscence of former Pakistan legend Saqlain Mushtaq, Ajmal won Pakistan many a match with his wily off-spinners. He even troubled the likes of Sachin Tendulkar in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. However, 3 years later ICC banned him from bowling in international cricket. The bio-mechanic analysis revealed that his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulation.
Ajmal, though, was not the only player who was suspended. India opener Shikhar Dhawan was asked to go under bio-mechanic analysis after his off-spinners violated the regulation during South Africa tour of India 2015. Nonetheless, that did not bother him, for his primary job is to score runs.
During ICC World T20 2016, Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were suspended. For that matter, even the great Muttiah Muralitharan underwent the test. It is not new anymore.
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Come to think of it, this issue emerges only when a bowler enters international cricket. It is not being taken care of at the grass-root level. Of course, the technology costs a lot more than the training fees. However, there’s a wearable technology that costs way lesser than the one ICC uses. With the help of an app named CricFlex, a bowler can check whether his action is clean or not.
In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Abdulla Ahmed (CEO of Cricfex) said, “Cricfex has a different kind of motion censors in it, like you have in mobile phones. And from these motion censors, we can calculate accurate elbow angles (from) starting of the bowling action to ultimately the release point. From that we can figure out whether the bowler is bowling legally or illegally. And then all of this data is sent to your mobile phone. There is a complete graphical display for the bowler or the coach.”
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The technology is nothing but a sleeve, starting mid-forearm to mid-bicep. All the bowler has to do is turn the switch on, and he gets the angle at which he hurls a delivery. What commendable is the cost at which it is available. “It will be around US$250 to 300, which is way more low cost as compared to (the tests offered) at bio-mechanic labs, which will cost you around US$ 404,000. So, the main purpose for us was to make it accessible at the grass-root level,” added Ahmed.
ICC tried and test other technologies that would test the angle during the match. “The ultimate goal is to actually implement it within the matches. So you can get real-time data, as compared to a lab, which will take 14 to 21 days to give you the result.”
