Misbah hopes Hafeez will clear bowling test

KARACHI: Misbah-ul-Haq believes that Pakistan will receive a huge boost if Mohammad Hafeez returns to the role of an all-rounder later this summer.

Hafeez has been playing as an opener since receiving a one-year ban for an illegal bowling action last year. The former Pakistan Twenty20 captain was one of the few players from the Pakistan line-up who failed to impress much in the team’s 75-run win in the opening Test at Lord’s last week.

Having completed his one-year ban, Hafeez is now planning to appear for a bio-mechanics test in a bid to regain his right to bowl in international cricket.

Misbah said that such a development will provide a big advantage to Pakistan during the rest of their tour of England.

“Hafeez is preparing himself to be tested and we are looking forward to it as that will give us a big advantage (especially) when the opposition have left-handers in their batting line-up. He needs time to get ready and understands the issues and what is needed. Unfortunately he got injured but now he is working on that,” Misbah told reporters at Old Trafford on Thursday on the eve of the second Test against England.

Agencies add: There are reports that Hafeez will appear for another biomechanics test within a fortnight, after completing his one-year ban imposed on him by the ICC for having an illegal action. His elbow flexed in excess of 15 degrees (the tolerance level allowed by ICC during the test carried out in Chennai in July 2015. He was flagged in the Test series against Sri Lanka last year.

Officially the ban ended during the fourth day of the Lord’s Test as Pakistan recorded a historic win. Since the ban, Hafeez has been working tirelessly on fixing his bowling action. He has sweated it out at the National Cricket Academy as well as in the practise sessions with the national team. But, his progress was halted after he sustained a knee injury during the ICC World T20 in India. He is slowly recuperating and is likely to appear in the ICC-accredited Loughborough biomechanics lab towards the end of the ongoing Test series.