T20 World Cup 2026: A closer look at Usman Tariq’s unusual stop-start bowling action and why it troubles batters.
Like every ICC event between India and Pakistan, the focus before the two side’s T20 World Cup 2026 meeting has been on one of the Pakistan bowlers. In 2016, the question was how India would face the 7 feet 1 inch tall Mohammad Irfan’s bouncers. Meanwhile, there were discussions of the 2007 T20 World Cup winners tackling Mohammad Amir or even Saeed Ajmal in the past. Now, the talk of the town is their off-spinner Usman Tariq’s bowling action.
Heading into the clash at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, India’s batters will have the new challenge of reading Tariq’s deceptive action. The 28-year-old has already earned success by taking 11 wickets in just four T20Is at an economy rate of 5.93. This includes his previous special performance of 3-27 against United States of America (USA) at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
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Usman Tariq’s unconventional bowling action with pause and mystery
Tariq made his entry to the Pakistan side in the T20I tri-series with a hat-trick against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi. It has been only four months since the spinner’s international debut, but he has been around the T20 circuit for a while.
Tariq’s action is quite unmistakable, with a normal run-up followed by the exaggerated pause at release. That pause before releasing the ball has been the hot topic, with many claiming it to be illegal. He almost stops completely for more than one second before delivering side-arm slinging off-breaks. It’s unconventional and deceptive to the batters, and has been central to his mystery.
Tariq has already been reported for his suspected action twice so far. The first incident occurred during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024, where he was cleared soon after testing at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He continued bowling but was again reported in the very next PSL before passing the assignment again.
During the recent home T20I series against Australia before the World Cup, Cameron Green, after being dismissed, made his displeasure clear at Tariq’s action. While going back to the dressing room, he imitated the spinner’s bowling action, implying it resembled a throw rather than a legal delivery. Previously, during the International League T20 (ILT20), England’s Tom Banton raised similar concerns.
Tariq was accused of ‘chucking’, which is a serious allegation for any professional bowler. But the ICC’s guideline remains simple. It reflects that a bowling action is deemed illegal if the bowler’s elbow is extended more than 15 degrees between the point of the arm reaching horizontal and the moment of release.
In the past, the on-field umpires used to call no-balls on illegal bowling. But ever since the 15-degree rule was introduced, they never called a bowler for a no-ball. That’s because it’s next to impossible to judge the degree with the naked eye without the help of technology.
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Ravichandran Ashwin decodes Usman Tariq’s mysterious action
Ravichandran Ashwin, the former India spinner, is familiar with these pauses in bowling action. During the 2013 Champions Trophy, he also used to pause before delivering the ball, which, according to him, creates pressure on the batter in selecting a shot.
Many former players and fans on social media felt Tariq’s bowling action had not been aesthetically pleasing, and Ashwin is staggered by this view. He addressed that the judgment would be made purely based on the suspicion of his arm being bent and straightened.
“Let me make it clear again and again. I am not bending the rules, or Usman Tariq isn’t. It’s well within the rules that a bowler’s creativity should be allowed to exploit every single part of that rule. If you pause, the batter has been waiting, and the batter’s downswing can change. That’s why anything different at the delivery crease takes the batter by surprise.” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin also reflected that the pause is part of Tariq’s action, and no one has the right to change that. However, he also gave the solution of how the batters could withdraw from playing a shot once the bowler stops.
“There is one thing I want to see. Who dares to do that? If Tariq pauses before delivery, the batter has the right to move away. The batter can say, ‘I don’t know when the ball is coming, so I moved away.’ That will be an interesting case and a huge headache for the umpire. The umpire will have to decide whether to warn the bowler or the batter.” Ashwin voiced in the same video.
Okay, let me make it as clear as possible. Firstly, the legalities of his action can only be tested at an ICC bowling action testing Centre.
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 11, 2026
Secondly, there is a 15° rule under which a bowler needs to keep his elbow and straighten it and to judge if a bowler is bowling within… pic.twitter.com/RbTkY6xJ3h
Tariq played a few smart tricks against the United States of America in the previous clash. After a few slower deliveries with the pause, he fired one delivery to Milind Kumar. The ball drifted away and got the edge of the bat to loop up to the short third region. Mohammad Mohsin was foxed only by the pause. The left-handed batter stepped a long way across the stumps, exposing all three stumps behind him. Tariq fired the ball full with the angle to break the stumps.
India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, in the pre-match press conference, didn’t show any anxiety on questions regarding Tariq. He informed that they had practiced against bowlers with unusual action in the past.
“If you get an out-of-syllabus question in the exams, you don’t leave it, you try and answer that. That’s what we will look to do. And it’s not that we haven’t practiced against bowlers with unusual action- we will plan and practice accordingly.” Sky expressed in the press conference.
Now, it boils down to the encounter. The pressure will also be on Tariq to deliver in the marquee clash. Meanwhile, India’s aggressive batting unit will hope to prove their captain right. And, the drama begins on February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
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