Usman Tariq has called on opposition batters to stop questioning the legality of his bowling action, insisting that responsibility rests solely with match officials rather than players on the field.
Speaking on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, the Pakistan spinner addressed a series of incidents in which opponents have appeared to challenge his action, most recently during The Hundred when Birmingham Phoenix faced Trent Rockets. After Tariq dismissed Australia’s Tim David, the batter appeared to gesture for a no-ball, seemingly questioning the legality of the spinner’s action.
Tariq made it clear that he believes such matters should be left to the officials overseeing the game.
“It is not the batters job to do these things. The umpires and match referee is there to watch everything. If I am allowed to bowl by the umpire it means my bowling action is legal.”
Repeated incidents leave Tariq frustrated
The latest exchange is not the first time Tariq’s action has become a talking point during a match. Earlier this year, Australia’s Cameron Green also appeared to question his action during a T20 international, while England batter Tom Banton mimicked Tariq’s bowling action during an ILT20 Qualifier between MI Emirates and Desert Vipers.
Reflecting on those repeated incidents, Tariq said he believes officials should take a more active role in preventing such situations.
“Maybe the umpires and match referee need to do something. I remember even in the International T20 League in Dubai England’s Tom Banton did the same thing, and at that time, I let him know my thoughts very clearly after getting him out.”
He also said the continued attention on his action overlooks the work required to succeed as a spinner in the modern T20 game.
“This should stop now. I work very hard on my bowling for variations because in T20 cricket nowadays there is no mercy for spinners. You have to be focussed all the time.”
Calls for players to respect officials’ role
Tariq said he generally avoids reacting when opponents question his action, but admitted the incident involving Banton prompted a response because it happened directly in front of him.
“It shows the kind of character that the player has, pointing such things out, because you’re not in that area where you’re supposed to do this. I usually don’t respond to such things, but Tom Banton did that in front of me, so I responded with some good words.”
His bowling action has previously been reported during the Pakistan Super League on two occasions, but testing at a PCB-accredited biomechanics laboratory in Lahore subsequently deemed it legal. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has also publicly defended Tariq’s action, arguing that the pause in his delivery does not breach the laws of the game and is a difficult skill to execute consistently.
Tariq said professional cricketers should trust the officials responsible for enforcing the laws rather than attempting to police bowling actions themselves.
“I felt like this is not your job, you’re not the one who will pinpoint these things. On-field and off-field umpires are already there, and only they can come and question me [my action]. Being professional players, we should be intelligent and mature enough to understand the rules of the game. It’s better to show the world that we are professionals rather than doing such negative stuff.”
The Pakistan international is one of only two players from his country featuring in this season’s The Hundred alongside Abrar Ahmed. He has taken two wickets in his opening two appearances for Birmingham Phoenix and arrived in the competition after finishing as Warwickshire’s leading wicket-taker in the 2026 T20 Blast, claiming 16 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 16 and an economy rate of 6.09.
