As Indian batters prepare to face Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq’s distinctive side-arm motion on Sunday, spin great R Ashwin offers a straightforward tip for them: simply step aside when he stops before delivering the ball. Tariq, 30, has played four Twenty20 Internationals and claimed 11 wickets at an incredible economy rate of less than six runs per over. His stop-and-pause technique has created quite a stir.
On a sluggish Premadasa track, he might prove crucial in Sunday’s T20 World Cup match between the bitter rivals.
“If he stops before delivering the ball, the batsman has the right to move away. He can say that ‘I thought he is stopping’. That will be an interesting case and a huge headache for the umpire,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“If I was there I would have done it. One should do everything to win a game within rules. I would simply say I don’t know when he will release the ball and I would step away. If I move away, it is the umpire’s responsibility.”
“Imagine the pressure on Usman Tariq in the middle of the match. It would be an incredible joyride. He is the ace up their sleeves, imagine what he becomes if the batsman reacts like that,” Ashwin added.
Ashwin had previously backed Tariq, but his unusual action has divided the cricket community.
Tariq is being used sparingly by Pakistan. His bowling action has become a topic of debate and former England captain Kevin Pietersen declared his stop and halt action illegal.
In order to determine whether his sidearm motion is inside the allowed 15 degree range as stated in the ICC rulebook, Ashwin called for a real-time competition testing tool. All international cricket bowlers are permitted to straighten their elbow joints by 15 degrees.
“…there is a 15 degree rule under which a bowler needs to keep his elbow and straighten it and to judge if a bowler is bowling within that 15 degree mark by the on-field Umpire is impossible. The only solution to that is having a real time in competition testing tool. The above is a grey area and to accuse someone for utilising the grey area is wrong.”
