Ajmal named in Pakistan World Cup squad

Saeed Ajmal is in Pakistan's 30-man preliminary squad for next year's ICC World Cup, despite currently being suspended by the International Cricket Council for an illegal bowling action.

The 37-year-old off-spinner is undergoing remedial work on his bowling action which was deemed illegal in September.

His action was reported as suspect during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka in August.

Ranked as the No.1 bowler in the world in one-day cricket in August, Ajmal's suspension was a huge blow to Pakistan's hopes of lifting the World Cup, being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in February and March.

However, chief selector Moin Khan hoped Ajmal will be cleared.

"We have included Ajmal in a hope that he will be cleared," Khan told AFP. "We have been monitoring him during his remedial work."

The Pakistan Cricket Board earlier this week asked the ICC to have Ajmal's action reassessed but have backed out of the plan after unofficial tests on the off-spinner showed little improvement.

Under ICC rules a bowler is allowed to flex his elbow by 15 degrees but Ajmal's action showed his goes to 43 degrees.

Misbah-ul-Haq has already been named as captain of the squad, which has to be trimmed to 15 by the January 7 deadline.

The 30-man squad also includes another player has been banned from bowling by the ICC, allrounder Mohammad Hafeez.

A report on his bio-mechanical analysis found all of Hafeez's deliveries exceeded the tolerated 15 degrees of bend permitted by regulations.

Misbah-ul Haq admitted Ajmal's suspension was a huge blow.

"Ajmal has been our trump card for the last five six years and his suspension is a big jolt for us," he said.

The preliminary squad also includes former captain Shoaib Malik, and Kamran Akmal, neither of whom have played for Pakistan for more than a year.

Pakistan preliminary squad for ICC World Cup: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Yasir Shah, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmad, Kamran Akmal.

Other provisional World Cup squads named

England: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jack Brooks, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook (capt), Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Stephen Parry, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Boyd Rankin, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright.

India (named as 'probables' squad): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Murali Vijay, MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Stuart Binny, Parvez Rasool, Ravi Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Amit Mishra, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma, Ashok Dinda.