Hafeez will not be able to bowl for the next 12 months

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez will not be allowed to bowl for the next 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second time in less than a year.

Hafeez, whose action was first deemed illegal in November 2014, will only be allowed to have his action reassessed after the 12-month ban is complete.

Hafeez had his action tested at an International Cricket Council (ICC)-accredited lab in Chennai on July 6 after he was reported at the end of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month. Unfortunately for the 34-year-old, the tests revealed that his elbow extension exceeded the 15-degree limit.

“As this report has constituted the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a suspension, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” the ICC said. “Hafeez is entitled to appeal any procedural aspect of an independent assessment that has led to this automatic suspension. However, only after the expiry of this one-year period will he be entitled to approach the ICC for a reassessment of his bowling action.”

Hafeez was banned for the first time in November as his elbow extension was found to be up to 31 degrees, but he was cleared to bowl again on April 21 after undergoing months of remedial work.