The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is visibly peeved with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) baffling decision to leave Saeed Ajmal out of the ICC's Test Cricketer of the Year award shortlist. The PCB has every right to be upset. After all, Ajmal captured 72 Test wickets between August 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012, which is the qualifying period for the award. What’s more 24 of these scalps came against England in the three-Test series in the UAE at a miserly average of 14.70. Ajmal’s achievement was a substantial one considering England had arrived in the UAE as the number one ranked Test team in the world, but were blanked chiefly due to the stranglehold Ajmal maintained over them.
As per the ICC, they had no say in the selections as an independent jury shortlisted the names. True as it may be, it is difficult to take the statement by cricket’s governing body at face value. After all, it is no secret that there have been plenty of controversies surrounding Ajmal’s doosra in recent times. More than one person has come out and stated that he has found something weird about the manner in which the 34-year-old premier Pakistani spinner delivers his mystery ball. Could it be one of the reasons why the ICC has decided to play it safe, and leave out Ajmal’s name from the list? Quite possible.
The abovementioned theory gets a sense of credence when one looks back a similar situation that presented itself before the ICC. In 2010, England’s number one offspinner Graeme Swann did not feature in the longlist for the Cricketer of the Year award prepared that year by the ICC itself. The ECB, however, recommended Swann’s name, following which the ICC added his nomination to the list, explaining that Swann’s original omission was a result of oversight. In Ajmal’s case, he was in the longlist before being omitted out from the shortlist. Considering his immensely impactful performance, there is no reason why the ICC shouldn’t reconsider the shortlist, and try and fit in Ajmal.
If indeed Ajmal’s doosra is the reason for the Pakistani spinner losing out on a place in the award list, the ICC is the party to blame. After all, it was the ICC committee that cleared Ajmal’s bowling action after putting him through a rigorous module to check the angle of his arm at delivery. If they were satisfied then, there is no reason why they should be apprehensive now. On the other hand, if Ajmal has been left out for reasons pertaining to performance, it is a clear cut case of a player not being given his due. Howzzat, ICC?
--By A Cricket Analyst
