Hasnain undergoes official bowling test; eyes international comeback

After sitting out for over four months, Pakistan’s speed gun Mohammad Hasnain is expected to soon make a comeback in the Pakistan national team. Hasnain found himself in trouble in January, playing for Sydney Thunder in the 2021-22 edition of the Big Bash League. 

The BBL umpires found the seamer’s action suspicious, and they reported the same to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The same was followed by the 22-year-old undergoing a biomechanics test.

The result didn’t favour the bowler as most of his deliveries exceeded the permissible limit of 15-degree. Due to an illegal bowling action, Mohammad Hasnain was suspended in February and has been out of action since then. 

However, it is now learned that the pacer has diligently worked on his bowling action. For the past four months, he has been working under a number of coaches at the High-Performance Center. A resort by ESPNcricinfo suggests that almost 5000 balls were bowled by Hasnain, which eventually helped the seamer to clear his action.

Under the supervision of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Hasnain learned that he was inconsistently rotating his arm to generate more swing. The same was causing a jerk in the pacer’s body. 

Also, to maintain the speed, he made wild landings with the ball. Mohammad Hasnain now seems to have corrected his action, and after a thorough discussion with the coaches, he decided to go ahead with the official test at ICC. 

“It is understood that the structure of his new bowling action remains the same though his wrist, arm rotation and landing has been tweaked, allowing him to bowl with consistent and repeatable action.

“He underwent multiple unofficial tests and the PCB, alongside Hasnain, went for official tests after getting encouraging results,” a report by ESPNcricinfo stated. 

Hasnain is quite hopeful of clearing the official bowling test and resume his stint for Pakistan at the highest level. However, if the bowler fails to pass the test, he will have to go back and practice hard to clear his action. 

Notably, the 22-year-old last played a competitive game of cricket in February for Quetta Gladiators. The seamer featured in just three Pakistan Super League 2022 games, as after that, he was suspended by the international council.