Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq is making the headlines for his bowling action in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Having already been reported before in his career for his bowling, Tariq has been cleared to bowl by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and played a key role in Pakistan’s win over United States of America (USA) in Colombo a couple of days back.
The 28-year-old has a unique bowling action. Taking a few steps into his bowling run-up, Tariq makes a pause for a second before releasing the ball same as Lasith Malinga used to do. In fact, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green looked unhappy too with Tariq’s bowling action during their T20I series just before the T20 World Cup 2026 began.
Tariq’s action has garnered divided reactions from Indian cricketers, especially before the high-voltage India vs Pakistan clash. A member of the U-19 World Cup-winning Indian side in 2008, Sreevats Goswami compared Tariq action with a footballer on his penalty run-up.
“Even football doesn’t allow players to pause during a penalty run-up anymore. How is this ok? Action – all good. But pause ? That too while loading to deliver. This can’t be continued seriously!” Goswami wrote on X. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin agreed with Goswami but countered Virat Kohli’s former teammate and highlighted imbalance in cricket’s laws.
“Agree football doesn’t allow it! While the batter can switch-hit or reverse without informing the umpire or bowler, after committing to bat on one side, why are the restrictions only limited to the bowler?” Ashwin replied. “In fact, the bowler is not allowed to change the arm with which he/she bowls without informing the umpire. They should first change that rule,” he added.
Another former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra jumped into the bandwagon. A cricketer-turned-commentator, Chopra questioned whether it is possible to increase the pace of the delivery without bending the arm? “I feel ‘pause’ is absolutely fine,” Chopra started.
“But I do have a very specific bowling question—if there’s no momentum generated by the run-up, is it possible to increase your pace by 20-25kms on certain deliveries without bending the arm?” questioned the Delhi-born cricketer who played 10 Test matches for India.
Is Usman Tariq’s bowling action illegal?
This is not the first time Tariq is facing criticism for his bowling action. Earlier, during the Pakistan Super League, Tariq was reported for his bowling twice in his career and was cleared on both the occasions. Even former international umpire Anil Chaudhary also found Tariq’s action legal.
In a video on his own social media channels, Chaudhary explained that although the Pakistan spinner has a side-arm action and delivers all his deliveries in the same manner, Tariq’s action falls under the prescribed ICC guidelines, especially the 15 degree angle.
What did Usman Tariq say about his own action?
In a video posted on YouTube, the Pakistan spinner had explained his bowling action and stated that his side-arm arm action is just because of a medical condition that he possesses. Tariq showed two corners of his elbow which makes it hard for him to bowl with a straightened arm.
“There are two corners on my [elbow] which make it hard for me to straighten. That creates confusion for spectators,” he had said.
