Clash over Usman Tariq’s stop and pause action, Ashwin said – it is legal, Aakash Chopra raised technical question

New Delhi . These days, Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq is at the center of debate in the cricket world due to his unique stop and pause and side arm bowling action. The discussion regarding his action has intensified before the India-Pakistan match in Colombo. While some former players termed it suspicious, India’s legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has openly supported Tariq and called it completely legitimate.

Usman Tariq’s international career is still in its early stages, but he has made an impact in a short time. 11 wickets in four T20 International matches and 70 wickets in 42 matches of his professional T20 career are proof of his influence. Especially on slow pitches, his style makes the batsmen uncomfortable. Players like American batsman Milind Kumar have also been seen struggling against his balls. He can also play an important role against Indian batsmen on the slow surface of Premadasa.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen raised questions on Tariq’s way of taking a slight pause or pause while bowling the ball and termed it illegal. But Ashwin’s opinion is completely different from this. He clarified on the social media platform ‘X’ that the final decision on the legality of any bowler’s action can be taken only by the ICC’s Bowling Action Testing Centre. Citing the 15 degree rule, Ashwin said that a bowler cannot straighten his elbow more than the prescribed limit, but it is almost impossible for the on-field umpire to judge this accurately. According to him, this is a gray area and unless the action is proven wrong in scientific investigation, it is not appropriate to call it illegal.

Ashwin also said that if Tariq stays at the crease and bowls the ball and this is his regular action, then it will be considered within the rules. He believes that waiting for the batsman to trigger movement or change the rhythm is part of cricket strategy and not a violation of the rules.

Former South African team performance analyst Prasanna Aghoram has also supported Tariq. He clarified that technically Tariq was not ‘chucking’ and his action had been given a clean chit earlier also. Aghoram is confident that even if there is a re-investigation, his action will be found correct.

However, former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra has raised questions on a different technical aspect. He said that there is no objection to the pause, but if the run-up is not generating much momentum, then how is an additional 20-25 kmph speed being generated on some balls without turning the hands? His question reflects more technical curiosity than rules.

Former international umpire Anil Chaudhary has also described Tariq’s action as per the rules. According to him, even though his action is a little different and on the side, but since he bowls every ball in almost the same way and there is no illegality in the arm bend, it cannot be faulted.

It is clear that Usman Tariq’s unique action is definitely stirring debate in the cricket world, but at present the opinion of experts keeps him within the limits of the rules. Now all eyes will be on what direction his performance on the field takes this discussion.