‘It was torture living without cricket’ says Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal

‘It was torture living without cricket’ says Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal: The 37-year-old Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal yesterday said he was delighted his eight-month ‘torture’ which saw him getting suspended for an illegal bowling action was finally over after being recalled to the national side for the tour of Bangladesh.

Ajmal was suspended from all forms of international cricket in September after biomechanical tests showed the elbow of his bowling arm to be flexing beyond the permissible 15-degree limit allowed by the International Cricket Council.

Ajmal who was ranked the number one bowler in the world in one-day cricket before his suspension, thanked his family and friends for helping him throughout the suffering. The Off spinner was quoted by AFP saying, “It was torture living without cricket, I have endured eight months of pain and it was the most difficult time of my life. I did my rehab and remedial work with the support of my family, friends and the Pakistan Cricket Board and now I am quite hopeful that I will be able to bowl as effectively as I used to before the suspension. I see no problems with my remodeled action as I have done enough work on it.”

Ajmal underwent remedial work on his action with the help of former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq before finally being cleared by the ICC in February.

However, Ajmal kept himself out from Pakistan’s World Cup squad to avoid ‘taking a risk with his career.’

“I watched the World Cup on television and for 45 days I wanted to enter the television and play alongside my teammates and do my part,” he said.

Ajmal also added, “I felt they were missing me as I was always effective in the batting power-plays when I used to pick up wickets and that was missing from our game. “I was in regular touch with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and was always trying to pump him and the other players up through my good wishes, but it was tough to be away from the team.”

The off-spinner, who admitted that Pakistani cricket was going through a difficult phase, insisted that this is just a temporary phase and the country had enough talent to bounce back.

“These are difficult times for Pakistan cricket but I am convinced there is no dearth of talent, In one year’s time the team will be settled through concerted efforts and we all will do our best to lift our beloved sport.” he said.