One of my former editors had a simple suggestion on handling a complicated report. He said: “When in doubt, chuck it out.” If the same theory is applied in cricket, many bowlers with suspect action would not have been playing the game.

It is a fact that most bowlers who have been accused of chucking never did it deliberately. Some were victims of wrong coaching and some turned chuckers by trying to modify their bowling or while experimenting with new techniques without guidance. If Saeed Ajmal is today being labelled a chucker, it has a lot to do with him not getting the right guidance at the right time.

As soon as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Ajmal has been banned from playing international cricket, many claimed that it was a conspiracy. Some hit out at the ICC stating how they could ban a player who had played in 35 Test matches and bagged 178 wickets. Before blaming anyone, it is important to remember that when Ajmal’s action was repeatedly questioned and criticised, everyone remained silent.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is now willing to hire their former spinner Saqlain Mushtaq for a monthly salary of a million Pakistani rupees (Dh 35,490) to help out Ajmal. Ironically, until this time the inventor of ‘doosra’ was never considered good enough to guide bowlers, and so he was helping out the West Indies bowlers! Similarly, one of their other former spinners, Mushtaq Ahmad, was helping the England team sharpen their spin attack. It is unfortunate that most countries fail to utilise the skills of their own legendary bowlers to shape their own team.

India has had some of the greatest spinners of all times in Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and S. Venkataraghavan, but the board has never bothered to even consult them to groom youngsters.

Being labelled a chucker is akin to being called a cheat and no bowler should face such humiliation. Many times, when bowlers with suspect action gets a batsman bowled, I have often heard sarcastic comments in the press box from some journalists that the dismissal should be recorded as a run out.

Many bowlers, who after being ‘corrected,’ never remained the same dangerous bowler. Former West Indies pacer Charlie Griffith, more known for having broken the skull of Indian skipper Nari Contractor could not pose the same threat after going through remedial measures.

It’s high time bowlers are rescued from facing Ajmal’s experience, and for that it is important to ensure that correct coaching techniques are imparted and technique experiments are carried out in consultation with great bowlers of the past. Any country that refrains from using legendary bowlers as mentors could land up throwing up many chuckers.