A slight pause in his delivery stride is followed by a stutter in releasing the ball before a sling action sends it tweaking through the air.
Usman Tariq is already being seen as an ace up Pakistan’s sleeve in Sunday’s contest as the Salman Agha-led team aim to improve on their deplorable win-loss record (1-7) against India in T20 World Cups.
It was only earlier this month that a frustrated Cameron Green mocked Tariq after being dismissed by the offie during a T20I in Lahore.
Most finger spinners come up with a pause and holding the front foot in the air generates a ripping effect when it comes to spin and bounce. Tariq has been using it as a potent weapon.
It was no surprise then that Suryakumar Yadav tried to emulate Tariq’s action as he gave batting practice to Abhishek Sharma during nets on Saturday evening.
“Sometimes there is a question in the exam which is out of syllabus. So we can’t leave that question. To tackle that, you have to try something. You have to adopt
your own way. And we try the same way,” Surya said at the news conference.
“Yes, he is a different character when he comes to bowl, but at the same time, we cannot just surrender to him. We practise with bowlers who have a similar action and we will try to execute what we are practising in net sessions.”
It is not just about Tariq as Pakistan are trying to break India’s hegemony with their five-man spin strategy, which has been effective in these slow and sluggish conditions. But Tariq’s action will come under scrutiny even after being cleared by the ICC twice.
“Yes, Usman is our trump card,” Pakistan captain Salman Agha said. “But he doesn’t care about what is being said because he’s very used to this stuff.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, who himself paused in his delivery stride at the start of his career, has offered a simple advice.
“If he stops before delivering the ball, the batsman has the right to move away. He can say that ‘I thought he is stopping’. That will be an interesting case and a huge headache for the umpire. If I was there, I would have done it,” he said on his YouTube channel.
But will any of the batters risk stirring up a fresh debate?
