Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal is a former Pakistani cricketer

Saeed Ajmal (‎ born 14 October 1977) is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed.

At domestic level in Pakistan he has represented Faisalabad, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad. Ajmal made his One Day International debut for Pakistan in July 2008 at the age of 30, and a year later played his first Test. In 2009 he was reported for having a suspect bowling action, but after being cleared he helped Pakistan win the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Ajmal played for Worcestershire as an overseas player in English domestic cricket in 2011. From November 2011 to December 2014, Ajmal has been ranked by the International Cricket Council as the number one bowler in ODIs. In December 2014, Sunil Narine took the first position of ODI from him, throwing him to the 2nd position. He is ranked at number four in ICC ranking of bowlers in T20Is, while his current ICC test bowler ranking is number 9. 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, Dilip Doshi 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 cricket before Shahid Afridi broke this record (101). He was signed by Adelaide Strikers for the 2012 Big Bash League in Australia.

In 2014 he was banned by the ICC because of an illegal bowling action. Saqlain Mushtaq 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.

In the honour of his services for the country he received Sitara-e-Imtiaz by President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain on 23 March 2015, it is the third highest civilian award of Pakistan.

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.

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,[28] 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.