Pakistani pacer Mohammad Hasnain's bowling action found to be illegal: Facing potential ban from domestic cricket as well

Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain's bowling action has been found to be illegal. Hasnain's actions were tested in January at an ICC accredited biomechanics laboratory.

The laboratory was at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The report from the lab showed that most of the balls he bowled had a bend more than the fifteen degrees that bowlers are allowed to in a legal action.

Hasnain's action was first reported in Big Bash

Hasnain's actions were first reported when he was playing for Sydney Thunder in the Australian Big Bash League. Usually, he would have been tested in Australia. However, he returned to Pakistan as he had to play for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan super league.

Hence, he was tested at LUMS. He played in the first three PSL games for Quetta but missed their loss to Islamabad United on thursday evening in Karachi. In the first three games, he took three wickets while conceding runs at an economy of 8.44 runs per over.

Hasnain has been in Pakistan's white ball squads for the last few years and has been in and out of the ODI and T20 teams. The 21-year-old has played eight ODIs and 18 T20s for Pakistan since his debut in March 2019.

He has played in many T20 leagues like the PSL and the Caribbean Super League. He was selected for the Big Bash this season as a replacement for English pacer Saqib Mahmood.

Will he be allowed to bowl in domestic tournaments?

The fast bowler has been allowed to continue bowling in domestic tournaments according to the ICC's regulations on illegal bowling actions. However, in 2016 the Pakistan cricket board stopped Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in the PSL when his actions were considered illegal. So, looking at the precedent it is likely that Hasnain will not be allowed to bowl for Quetta in the PSL either.