5 stunning claims made by Saeed Ajmal in his recent podcast appearance
One of the most versatile spinners of his time and Pakistan's bowling mainstay during 2010–15, Saeed Ajmal, has recently appeared in a podcast where he made stunning claims.
During his peak, Ajmal was unplayable for the batsmen at times with his variations in Doosra and different trajectories in flighting the ball. He played 35 tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is for Pakistan.
In Nadir Ali's podcast, he spoke about his journey in cricket, discussing everything from his teammates to the reporting of his actions.
In this article, we will talk about five of his claims, which have become the talking point in cricket fever right now.
#5 "PCB forcefully retired many cricketers"
Saeed Ajmal did not hold back when asked about his retirement. After getting clearance from the ICC to bowl again, he returned to domestic cricket. He performed exceedingly well, but was denied a comeback by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
He said:
"In the past, PCB has forcefully retired many legendary Pakistan cricketers, be it Imran Khan or any other legend, and didn't give them the respect they deserve."
Ajmal added:
"When I asked the board to consider me for International matches, they asked me to play domestic cricket, where I made Karachi the Champions of the Pakistan domestic T20 tournament, taking the highest number of wickets. But when asked about reconsideration, PCB said a big no"
#4 "We got the checks, but never the money for the 2009 World Cup triumph"
Saeed Ajmal claimed the Pakistan Cricket Board did not pay the prize money to the 2009 T20 World Cup-winning team under Younis Khan. Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title at the iconic Lord’s.
The Pakistan spinner said the national government gave a check for 25 Lakh PKR to each player, but the money was never credited to the account.
“Our checks after the ICC T20 World Cup 2009 win got dishonored. We got the checks, but never the money. The checks for 25 lakh PKR bounced”
#3 "Sachin was deliberately left out in the 2011 World Cup semi-final"
Talking to Nadir Ali's podcast, Saeed Ajmal dropped the bombshell that Sachin Tendulkar was not given out deliberately in the 2011 World Cup semifinal.
He was referring to the controversial decision where Sachin misread Ajmal's straighter one. He got hit on the front pad, with the umpire raising his finger to signal out.
But after being reviewed, the decision was reversed. Ball tracking showed the ball missing the stumps.
He claimed the last two frames of the replay were cut in order to save Sachin.
“I played in the 2011 ODI World Cup held in India. You may remember the controversial appeal by the Pakistan players for Sachin Tendulkar’s LBW out.
Ajmal continued:
Me and the umpire still firmly believe it’s out. They cut the last two frames of the replay to avoid footage of the ball hitting the stumps. Otherwise, the ball should hit the middle stump exactly"
#2 "I was banned from bowling because I was the number one bowler"
Saeed Ajmal was banned from bowling due to his suspect bowling action. His elbow bent over 15 degrees while releasing the ball, which is more than the permissible limit set by the ICC.
Ajmal could not adapt to the sudden change in his action, and played his last game against Bangladesh in April 2015.
Saeed Ajmal claimed he was not alone in his alleged illegal bowling action. Players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Narine, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Muttiah Muralitharan were also among many others who, despite having taken illegal action, were not called upon.
He also said he was banned because he was unplayable, and was the top-ranked bowler.
"Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Narine, Muttiah Murlitharan, Courtney Walsh, and Curtly Ambrose had illegal bowling actions, but after seven years of international cricket, the ICC understood that my bowling action was not legal. This was a big injustice to me."
Ajmal added:
"They should have stopped me in 2009 only. But they allowed me to play. After I got 448 wickets, they realized there needed to be a way to stop him, and so they did what they did. I was the world's number one bowler when I was banned from bowling"
#1 "I would have taken 1000 wickets if I played for India"
Saeed Ajmal claimed several Indian bowlers also bowled with suspect action. However, they were not banned due to the BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) power and influence in international cricket.
Ajmal said he would have taken more than 1000 wickets in his career, had he played for India. He claims he would have, like many other Indian bowlers, been protected by the BCCI.
He said:
"I would have taken 1,000 wickets by now. To be honest, if I played for India, I would have 1,000 wickets. I was a bowler who took 100 wickets every year. Almost every year in my international career, I took 100 wickets"