India-Pakistan: Meet Usman Tariq, the mystery spinner who can be a X-factor
Everyone feels I bend my arm... my bent arm is a biological issue, says the off spinner
The tall lithe figure of Usman Tariq resembles more like a pace bowler, but the 28-year-old mystery spinner of Pakistan has been in the eye of the storm on the eve of the marquee India game on Sunday. His sling arm action, followed by an unusual pause at the point of delivery, has stirred up calls about his action but he could be the X-factor in a varied spin attack of his team on the slow surface of R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Making his T20 World Cup bow against the US in the last game, Usman created an immediate impact with three for 27 – but not before setting the tongues wagging about the legality of his action again. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has cleared him twice, but it hasn’t stopped the chatter with the eloquent Ravi Ashwin weighing in on the issue on his YouTube channel. ‘’The dice seems to be loaded against the bowlers. If a batter can opt for a switch-hit or reverse sweep without prior notice, why can’t a bowler stop just before his delivery?’’ the master spinner observed.
Having said that, Ashwin also weighed in with a ploy Indian batters should adopt to counter the spinner who has claimed 11 wickets from his four T20I appearances so far. Ashwin felt that the onus is on the batter to move away from his stance once he stops - telling the umpire that he thought the bowler was ‘not ready.’ It remains to be seen whether the Pakistan team management eventually decides to pit him against India in such a high profile game where the scanner of the cricketing world is already on.
Talking about mystery spinners in Colombo, the name of Ajantha Mendis is difficult to forget for the way he tormented a star-studded Indian batting line-up in a home Test series in 2008. Speaking to a regional daily from Kolkata, Mendis warned that India’s natural strokemakers have to be wary against Usman and a varied spin attack of Pakistan on their slow surface.
Earlier this month, Australia’s Cameroon Green mimicked Usman’s action after being dismissed by him during a bilateral T20I series in Lahore, seemingly hinting at chucking. England batter Tom Banton expressed similar concerns during the last edition of the ILT20.
It's not the quirky action of Usman, but the way his ‘hypermobile elbow’ loads before the delivery which plants the seeds of doubt in the minds of umpires – a complaint which also bothered greats like Muttiah Muralitharan and Jasprit Bumrah in recent times. Even before his international debut late last year, the spinner was reported twice during the Pakistan Super League 2025 but on both occasions, he was cleared after tests.
Closer to home, Jasprit Bumrah’s hyperextended elbow has also raised suspicion in the past, until advanced broadcast analysis confirmed it was within legal limits and, in fact, part of his natural advantage.
Speaking to MYK Sports, Usman, who gave cricket a second chance after being inspired by MS Dhoni’s biopic, addressed the issue: “I do have two elbows in my arm. My arm bends naturally. I have got this tested and cleared. Everyone feels I bend my arm. My bent arm is a biological issue.”
This is what ICC regulations say about an illegal bowling action: “An Illegal Bowling Action is where a player is throwing rather than bowling the ball. This is defined as the elbow extending by more than 15 degrees between the arm reaching horizontal and the ball being released.”
Usman may have passed the scrutiny in the past, but it will be a test of his temperament as he swings into action against batters of the class of Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya.