LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Wednesday announced that following remedial work and reassessment, the bowling action of Pakistan’s all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez had been found to be legal, and the player can now resume bowling in international cricket. On November 17, Hafeez underwent a reassessment of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, Australia where it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension for all his off-spin deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations for the review of bowlers reported with suspected illegal bowling actions. “The umpires are still at liberty to report Hafeez if they believe he is displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal action from the reassessment. To assist the umpires, they will be provided with images and video footage of the bowler’s remodeled legal bowling action,” said a spokesman for the ICC. Hafeez was originally suspended from bowling in November 2014, but he was reassessed and permitted to resume bowling in April 2015. He was reported during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka (17-21 June 2015) and was subsequently suspended for 12 months in July 2015 after an independent assessment revealed he had employed an illegal bowling action for the second time in 24 months. He spent over a month undergoing rehabilitation before deciding to take the official ICC assessment. Beforehand he underwent informal testing in PCB’s biomechanics lab at LUMS University in Lahore to make sure his flex was within allowable 15-degree limit. If he is reported again, he will be required to undertake further analysis of his bowling action at an ICC accredited testing centre. Hafeez has always believed that his bowling is an integral part to what he can bring to a team, although the Pakistan selectors have continued to consider him a batsman first with the offspin as a useful addition. Speaking to media, Hafeez expressed joy at the news. He said that he enjoyed bowling and missed it during the ban. He was hopeful about being recalled to the side. “I will now strive to become the top all-rounder again. I have always enjoyed playing as an all-rounder and I am glad that now I will be able to put my 100 per cent and become the top all-rounder once again,” said Hafeez. Hafeez also thanked the people involved in the process to make his bowling action legal again, including coaches, analysts and the National Cricket Academy. “I was optimistic in getting the action cleared as I had worked really hard for this.” The Pakistan Cricket Board had hired bowling coach Carl Crowe to help Hafeez correct his bowling action before taking a bowling assessment test in England but he decided against taking any test because of his fitness issues. Hafeez was dropped from the Pakistan squad for a series against the West Indies as he was experiencing injury and form issues. He was also not considered for the two Test match series against New Zealand that ended Tuesday.