Pakistan fans start online war after Mohammad Hafeez ban, challenge ICC with examples of Indian bowlers

New Delhi: Fuming Pakistan cricket fans challenged International Cricket Council (ICC) for banning Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in international cricket by taking examples of Indian spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Kedar Jadhav and Harbhajan Singh.

The ICC released a statement on Thursday, saying "an independent assessment has found the bowling action of Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez to be illegal and, as such, the off-spinner has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect."

"The assessment revealed that the majority of his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations," it added.

Hafeez was reported during the third ODI match against Sri Lanka last month in Abu Dhabi, and had undergone an independent assessment of his bowling action on 1 November at Loughborough University.

It was third such ban for the 37-year-old.

Hafeez then took to Twitter to plead his innocence, and soon, Pakistan fans started questioning ICC's verdict. And to prove their point, they used Indian bowlers as a point of reference.

Saddened to know the result of my bowling action from ICC , it would never pull me down , wil never give up , worked so hard to remodelled it & wil work again twice harder to get better to serve my beloved country Pakistan & Achieve MORE #NO1allrounder — Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) November 16, 2017

Icc ko na ashwin nazar aata h na kedar jadav bs pak k players hi inko nazar aaty hen b.c — Zeeshan Niazi (@Zeeshan20784903) November 17, 2017

I don't know kyn icc ko ya nazar nhe ata pic.twitter.com/Ubw6MecWGI — Amir Khan (@Amirkh3456) November 17, 2017

pic.twitter.com/CyK3V9Ouen — Amir Khan (@Amirkh3456) November 17, 2017

Blkul sae kha ap NE kedar jadev ashwin or Harbhjan ko kbi notic ni laty bgrt — Mahar Mohsin (@MaharMohsin16) November 16, 2017

Hafeez can apply for a re-assessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with clause 4.5 of the Regulations.

Hafeez, 37, has been suspended on two previous occasions for the same offence and served a 12-month ban from July, 2015 after his action was found to be illegal for the second time in a two-year period.

The all-rounder has played 50 Tests, 195 ODIs and 81 T20Is, scoring 3452, 5959 and 1658 runs. He has also taken 52 Test, 136 ODI and 49 T20I wickets.