Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has made a controversial statement regarding Indian off-spinner R Ashwin. Ajmal has claimed Ashwin was on the verge of getting banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over his action and was kept away from international cricket intentionally for some time to avoid the ban. Ajmal also blamed ICC for having different rules for different players while citing Ashwin’s alleged case.

Ashwin is one of the best spinners in the world at present and is a vital cog in India’s bowling attack in Tests. He has over 600 wickets to his name across formats and is presently India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 409 scalps to his name 78 Tests. He is just nine wickets shy of overtaking Harbhajan Singh to move to the third spot on the list of highest Test wicket-takers for India.

Ajmal, who has been banned by ICC multiple times over his illegal bowling action, claimed Ashwin too had suspected action and could have been banned. However, the Indian spinner allegedly was given a break to work on his action in order to avoid the ban.

“You changed all these rules and regulations without asking anyone. I was playing cricket for the last eight years. All those rules were for me. That’s it. During that period, Ashwin was out from cricket for six months. Why is that? So you can work on him and your bowler doesn’t get banned. They don’t care if a Pakistan bowler gets banned. They only care about money,” Ajmal was quoted as saying by Cricwick.

Ashwin, who made his international debut for India in the year 2010 has since gone on to become one of the best bowlers in the world in the longest format. While he remains out of favour in white-ball cricket, Ashwin continues to be an important member of the Indian Test squad.

The off-spinner will be next seen in action in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The final will followed by a five-match Test series between India and England.