Kamal Ghorui
TimesofIndia.com in Colombo: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha showed visible frustration when the third question on Usman Tariq’s bowling action was asked in the pre-match press conference on Saturday, ahead of the match against India.Around a week ago, at the captain’s press conference in Colombo, Agha had said: “In the end, it comes down to the fact that he will hang a notice on his neck saying that I am clear, and he will tell the batter first that I am clear. Now, the matter has come to that.”
Tariq’s bowling action has been at the centre of debate even before the T20 World Cup kicked off.The 28-year-old had an extensive net session on Friday, bowling to almost every Pakistan batter for close to two hours.On Saturday, Agha was once again asked about Tariq’s action. He replied: “All players are equal in my eyes. You guys are the ones who are focused on Usman Tariq and have made him a big topic. Obviously, he has been bowling quite well for the past few months. He has played league cricket before representing Pakistan, where he also performed well. It can be said that he is a trump card for us.”When coaxed about whether the bowler was feeling the heat, Agha said, “I don’t think he cares about all that is being said about his action. People have been talking about his action ever since he started playing cricket.”The Pakistan captain is not wrong. Tariq’s journey to top-level cricket has not been a smooth one. He was twice reported for a suspect bowling action during the country’s premier domestic T20 tournament, the Pakistan Super League (PSL), over the last two seasons. On both occasions, he was cleared after testing at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.“He jokes about it,” Usman’s cousin Haseeb ur Rehman told TimesofIndia.com earlier this month.“He says he does not care. He gives a sarcastic smile and says people do not know that he has cleared the ICC’s test twice. ‘Jitni nafrat faila rahe, main utna mashoor ho raha hoon’ (The more hatred they spread, the more famous I become).”The third question on Usman Tariq seemed to make Agha, usually a calm and composed man, lose his cool.He looked at Pakistan’s media manager, took a deep breath and said: “The guy has been cleared twice and has done everything the ICC asked him to do to bowl in international cricket. I don’t know why people are saying so many things about him, but one thing I can assure you is that he is very used to this. It has been with him since he started playing international cricket.”
How to tackle Usman Tariq?
Tariq’s exaggerated pause in his delivery stride has made people increasingly curious.Veteran India spinner R Ashwin floated an interesting idea on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.“There is one thing I want to see. Who dares to do that?” Ashwin said, adding, “If Tariq pauses before delivery, the batter has the right to move away. The batter can say, ‘I don’t know when the ball is coming, so I moved away.’”“That would be an interesting case and a huge headache for the umpire,” he added. “The umpire would have to decide whether to warn the bowler or the batter. Odds are, and that is how cricket has worked, the bowler will be warned first.”“Imagine this happening in such a big game,” Ashwin said. “Tariq has become the cynosure. He has to bowl 24 deliveries like that. If batters start withdrawing, imagine the pressure on him. He might have to alter his action in the middle of the game. Pakistan’s trump card could suddenly turn ineffective.”Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who played with Tariq at Quetta Gladiators in the PSL, told The Associated Press: “Batters are struggling to read Tariq because of the long pause when he steps on the bowling crease.“The pause disturbs their concentration and when he bowls a fastish delivery after that delay, or even a slower one, it leaves batters clueless.”What was once billed as a clash of arch-rivals has now been overshadowed by a singular subplot. As the February 15 fixture draws closer, the conversation has shifted decisively away from all the drama that has happened between the two countries in the past few months, settling instead on Usman Tariq’s prolonged pause and unconventional action, a detail that could end up defining the narrative of this marquee contest.
