Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
, ; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former
cricketer
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
, who played all forms of the game. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed.
At domestic level in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
he represented
Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Paki ...
, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad. Ajmal made his
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...
debut for Pakistan in July 2008 at the age of 30, and a year later played his first
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
. In 2009 he was reported for having a suspect bowling action, but after being cleared he helped Pakistan win the
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugura ...
. Ajmal played for
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
as an overseas player in English domestic cricket in 2011. From November 2011 to December 2014, Ajmal was ranked by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
as the number one bowler in ODIs. He reached the same ranking in T20Is between October and December 2012, while his highest Test ranking was second between January and July of the same year. He is one of four Test bowlers that made their debut after the age of thirty to take more than 100 test wickets, along with
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.
Early l ...
,
Dilip Doshi
Dilip Rasiklal Doshi (born 22 December 1947) is a former Indian cricketer of Gujarati origin who played in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals from 1979 to 1983.
Doshi is one of only four Test bowlers that played their first Test aft ...
and Ryan Harris.
On 28 January 2012, in his 20th Test, Ajmal became the quickest Pakistani to take 100 Test wickets. He holds the record of leading wicket taker (85) in
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
cricket before Shahid Afridi broke this record (101). He was signed by Adelaide Strikers for the 2012
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
in Australia.
In 2014 he was banned by the ICC because of an illegal bowling action.
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq BND ( ur, ; born 29 December 1956) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who, as of February 2022, is the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team. Regarded as one of the best spin bowlers in ...
worked with Ajmal to correct his bowling action. On 27 December 2014, Saeed Ajmal withdrew his name from the Pakistani World Cup squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after he was unable to rectify his bowling action.
On 13 November 2017, Ajmal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. On 29 November 2017, he played his final match, playing for Faisalabad against Lahore Whites, in the semi-finals of the
2017–18 National T20 Cup
The 2017–18 National T20 Cup was a Twenty20 domestic cricket competition that was played in Pakistan. It was the fourteenth season of the National Twenty20 Cup in Pakistan. It was originally scheduled to take place in August and September 201 ...
.
Currently, Ajmal is an assistant coach of
PSL
PSL may refer to:
Sport
*Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan
*Philippine Super Liga, professional volleyball league in the Philippines
*Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league in the Philippines
* Philipp ...
Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Paki ...
since his debut in 1995 at the age of 18. Ajmal represented the Faisalabad Wolves in the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, his team won the final in which he was man of the match. When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006 Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize. He has also represented Khan Research Laboratories, who were runners-up in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; though his side lost the final, Ajmal took 5/105 and 2/55 and in the process passed 250 first-class wickets. Ajmal has also played for Islamabad.
International career
Pakistan hosted the
Asia Cup
The Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup is a men's One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket tournament. It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countries. ...
in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...
's leg spin. He made his debut against
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
on 2 July 2008. Ajmal took a single wicket, that of Yusuf Pathan, from his ten overs while conceding 47 runs (1/47) as Pakistan won by eight wickets, before taking 2/19 in a ten-wicket victory over
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
, although the team had no chance of progressing to the competition's final. In November that year Pakistan travelled to the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
to face the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...
in a three-match ODI series. Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options; the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.
Ajmal's next match the third ODI against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in January 2009. In April Pakistan faced Australia in the UAE in five ODIs. Playing in all five matches Ajmal took four wickets at an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
of 39.50. He was then picked for the Sri Lankan series in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
where he had made solid performances in the Test matches, being picked ahead of Danish Kaneria in two of the matches.
In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action. An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15-degree tolerance allowed by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
. Later that year, the
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Cou ...
named a pool of 30 players from which they would choose their final squad for the
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugura ...
, held in June. Initially left out, Ajmal was one of three players added to the list, replacing players who were dropped because they were contracted with the controversial
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India. Its two seasons included tournaments between four international teams (World XI, India, Pakista ...
. In the tournament, Ajmal partnered Afridi. Pakistan won the tournament, and Ajmal was the tournament's joint second highest wicket-taker with twelve dismissals from seven games (only Pakistan's Umar Gul took more wickets, with thirteen dismissals).
Ajmal's good form continued in the
2010 ICC World Twenty20
The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was the third ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May 2010. It was won by England, who defeated Australia in the fi ...
as he was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. However despite his good form he was known for conceding three sixes to
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...
in what has been hailed as the most thrilling Twenty20 match of all time as Australia were in trouble and Ajmal was the unfortunate bowler who bowled that final over.
Shortly after this the Pakistan team began a tour of England where they would face Australia in two Tests in July, and subsequently play England in four Tests and five ODIs. Danish Kaneria was preferred to Ajmal in the first match against Australia, but after Pakistan lost the selectors considered dropping the leg-spinner and choosing Ajmal. In the event, Ajmal was not selected until the second Test against England, when Kaneria was dropped because he had been ineffective. Though Pakistan lost the match by nine wickets, Ajmal took his first five-wicket haul in Tests. In Pakistan's second innings, with his team looking to set a target for England to chase, Ajmal scored 50 from 79 balls, his first half-century in Tests, before he was dismissed by fellow off spinner
Graeme Swann
Graeme Peter Swann (born 24 March 1979) is an English former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Born in Northampton, he attended Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire. He was primarily a right-arm off-spinner, and also ...
.
During the series against England, Pakistan became engulfed in a spot fixing scandal after the fourth test. In a later secret interview it was unveiled by alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed that Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...
were too difficult to bribe. He stated that Ajmal was too religious to get involved into fixing.
After the controversy and upheaval of 2010, 2011 saw Pakistan become a more consistent team. The year began with the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
held between February and April. Pakistan progressed to the semi-final, where they were defeated by India; playing in three of the team's matches, Ajmal took five wickets at an average of 18.60. After the World Cup, Pakistan played ten Tests, winning six and losing a single match; this saw the team win series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and draw with the West Indies. Ajmal finished the year with 50 wickets from 8 Tests, more than any other bowler (second on the list was India's Ishant Sharma with 43). Pakistan were also largely successful in ODIs, winning 24 out of 32. After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 4–1 in November 2011, Ajmal climbed to the number one spot in the ICC's ODI rankings. He finished the year by taking nine wickets over two Tests in Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh.
Pakistan started 2012 with a three Test series against England in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
. Ajmal was named the man of the match for the first Test in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
, with match figures of 10 wickets for 97 runs and a career best 7/55 in England's first innings. In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat. The series concluded with Pakistan completing a 3–0 whitewash over England, and Ajmal was named man of the series after claiming 24 wickets at an average of 14.70.
In the immediate aftermath of the Test series, following confusion over comments from Ajmal about his bowling action in an interview to the BBC, ESPNCricinfo published detailed information on the issue after a thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with ICC having been conducted. The resulting articles underlined the fact that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.
Ajmal was signed by Adelaide Strikers for the 2012
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
in Australia.
Following a career best innings haul of 7/19 for
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
against
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, the issue of Ajmal's bowling action was again raised by former England captain Michael Vaughan and current Twenty20 captain
Stuart Broad
Stuart may refer to:
Names
*Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
* Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
* Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
North ...
. The latter opined that Ajmal's action in competitive cricket may differ from that which he used during ICC testing. However, as part of the testing procedure, match footage is used alongside videos made "in a lab" and compared to ensure it is identical. Also, umpires are able to super-impose match footage on the testing footage to check that a bowlers' action has not subsequently deteriorated. This has been done in Ajmal's case and his action was found to be identical. Ajmal contacted the ECB to request an explanation for Broad's comments.
In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the
Bicentenary Celebration match
The Bicentenary Celebration match was a 50-over exhibition cricket match played on 5 July 2014 at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, to mark the 200th anniversary of the ground, which was first used in 1814 and is considered the "home of cricket". ...
at Lord's.
On 13 November 2017, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
County cricket
Ajmal was signed by Worcestershire in 2011 as their overseas player. He was signed by them as their overseas player again in 2014 and 2015. He was their highest wicket-taker in County Cricket in 2014 with 56 wickets.
Bowling style
A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way, and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners. The doosra has been an effective tool for Ajmal as batsmen have often failed to pick it. Explaining his bowling style in 2012, Ajmal said "If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 70% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it."
ICC ban
The
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
on 9 September 2014 banned Ajmal over his bowling action. The statement said, "An independent analysis has found the bowling action of Pakistan's off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to be illegal and, as such, the player has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. The analysis revealed that all his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations."
Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017
Ajmal became the first bowler as well as first overseas player to pick up a
fifer
A fifer is a non-combatant military occupation of a foot soldier who originally played the fife during combat. The practice was instituted during the period of Early Modern warfare to sound signals during changes in formation, such as the line, ...
He was awarded the third highest civilian award of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Sitara-e-Imtiaz
The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...
for his excellent services for the nation by
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Mamnoon Hussain on 23 March 2015.