ICC does not allow Hafeez to bowl in PSL-3

DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) has denied a request from Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) to allow Mohammad Hafeez to bowl in the third edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL-3) that already got into action with the opening ceremony and opening inaugural match at Dubai Sports City Thursday.

The PCB had sought special permission from the ICC on behalf of Peshawar Zalmi to allow the all-rounder bowl in the League. However the permission has been denied. “The request has been rejected by the ICC as result Hafeez would not be able to bowl in the third edition of the PSL,” revealed one of the PCB officials while talking to The News. He said Zalmi was keen to have Hafeez as the part of their bowling armory and sought special permission through PCB.

“The request has been turned down. Though the PCB had advocated his case for the PSL, the request was denied.”On November 16, 2016, Hafeez was banned for the third time from bowling in any competitive Cricket failing under ICC banner.

An independent assessment at Loughborough University found Hafeez’s action to be illegal. Hafeez, at the time of suspension was world’s top-ranked ODI allrounder.He was reported for suspect action after the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi in October 2017 and underwent his assessment in Loughborough two weeks after.The assessment, according to an ICC report revealed that majority of Hafeez’s deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the ICC’s regulations.