At domestic level in Pakistan he represented Faisalabad, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad.

[15][16] When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006, Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize.

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to Shahid Afridi's leg spin.

[22] In November that year Pakistan travelled to the United Arab Emirates to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series.

Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options;[23] the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.

An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15-degree tolerance allowed by the International Cricket Council.

[27] Later that year, the Pakistan Cricket Board named a pool of 30 players from which they would choose their final squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, held in June.

However despite his good form he was known for conceding three sixes to Michael Hussey in what has been hailed as the most thrilling Twenty20 match of all time as Australia were in trouble and Ajmal was the unfortunate bowler who bowled that final over.

In Pakistan's second innings, with his team looking to set a target for England to chase, Ajmal scored 50 from 79 balls, his first half-century in Tests, before he was dismissed by fellow off spinner Graeme Swann.

In a later secret interview it was unveiled by alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed that Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi were too difficult to bribe.

[38] After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 4–1 in November 2011, Ajmal climbed to the number one spot in the ICC's ODI rankings.

[45][46] In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat.

[48][49] In the immediate aftermath of the Test series, following confusion over comments from Ajmal about his bowling action in an interview to the BBC,[50] ESPNCricinfo published detailed information on the issue after a thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with ICC having been conducted.

The resulting articles underlined the fact that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.

However, as part of the testing procedure, match footage is used alongside videos made "in a lab" and compared to ensure it is identical.

Offspinners get a lot of lbws from round the wicket, so you [batsman] have to work really hard, and a bloke who's got a doosra you have to work extra special hard [sic].A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way,[35] and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners.

[63] He launched his own fashion brand, Saeed Ajmal Stores, offering ethnic clothing to all age and gender groups, with branches all over the country.