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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan from bowling in all competitions under their jurisdiction after the committee deemed his bowling action as illegal. The decision by the ECB comes after an independent assessment was conducted at Loughborough University.
According to the assessments, the body confirmed irregularities in the Bangladesh all-rounder’s bowling action. Notably, his bowling action was reported during his single appearance for Surrey in a county match against Somerset in September 2024. On-field umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and David Millns raised concerns on the veteran all-rounder’s action, followed by his suspension.
Shakib Al Hasan banned from bowling in ECB tournaments over illegal action
The Bangladesh all-rounder’s suspension is related to all tournements under the jurisdiction of ECB, but the ban could be beyond ECB organised tournaments under Section 11.3 of the ICC regulations. “Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been suspended from bowling in ECB competitions following an independent assessment of his bowling action,” the statement from ECB read.
"Shakib’s action was reported by the standing umpires while he was playing for Surrey in the County Championship match against Somerset in September. Shakib completed an independent assessment at Loughborough University earlier this month, which found that the elbow extension in his bowling action exceeded the 15 degree threshold as defined in the Regulations," it further added.
The suspension will be active from December 10, 2024 until the the bowler passes the re-assessment. "This suspension takes effect from the receipt of the independent assessment on 10 December 2024, and follows the process set out in the ECB’s Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with a Suspected Illegal Bowling Action. Shakib is ineligible to bowl in ECB competitions until he has passed an independent re-assessment of his bowling action," read the statement.
Notably, this is the first instance that Shakib Al Hasan’s action has been questioned in his career spanning of 17 years. In his career spanning of 447 matches, he has taken 712 international wickets.
