Sports news. After days of suspense and confusion, the BCCI, on Thursday, finally cleared Sunil Narine to bowl his off-breaks. The decision, however, comes with a rider that if the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner is reported again, he would be straightaway banned for this season.
But that did not deter the defending champions to pick their mystery spinner straightaway for their match against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
“We have got the leader of the attack, Sunil Narine is back,” KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir said after the toss as they went with four specialist spinners.
Sunil Narine. Photo courtesy sportsrediscovered.com
Narine underwent another test – the third within a month – at Sri Ramachandra Arthroscopy and Sports Sciences Centre (SRASSC) in Chennai after he was called for suspect action during KKR’s match against the Sunrisers Hyderabd in Visakhapatnam on April 22.
Although the BCCI’s Suspect Bowling Action Committee cleared his knuckle balls and straighter ones earlier, he was barred from bowling his stock off-spinners.
The West Indian thus once again went for a test and after a week or so, Narine was given the go-ahead to bowl his off-spinners.
“In its decision on 28 April 2015 to ban Mr Narine from bowling off-spinners in the IPL, the BCCI Suspect Bowling Action Committee noted that the player could request a further Official Assessment by the Committee.
“This request was received and accordingly the player underwent a third biomechanical analysis of his action at the ICC and BCCI accredited Sri Ramachandra Arthroscopy and Sports Sciences Centre (SRASSC) in Chennai — this time for his remodelled action (i.e. the one that had been cleared by the Committee immediately before the IPL season).
“This analysis has re-confirmed the conclusion of the first Official Assessment by the Committee — namely that the remodelled action for the off-spinner does not contravene Law 24.2 (as read with Law 24.3).
“Accordingly, the Committee has determined that Mr Narine’s name be removed from the IPL Suspected Illegal Bowling Action Policy’s Warning List and that he may once more bowl all deliveries (the off-spinner, the knuckle ball and the quicker straight ball) in matches organised by the BCCI including the IPL,” said a BCCI release.
Narine played the first five matches of this IPL with the remodelled action, taking two wickets. KKR coach Trevor Bayliss hinted on Wednesday that the spinner had erred under pressure. “Over a period of time, under a little bit of pressure, the body reverts to the action you usually bowl,” he had said.
The spinner got back his rhyme by picking up four wickets against Kings XI Punjab in the next match. No wonder Gambhir heaped praise on him by saying “People can keep talking about him of being a mystery bowler. I read about his mystery was solved and things like that. But for us he’s not a mystery bowler, but a quality bowler. Mystery will eventually get solved but a quality bowler will always do well under any circumstances.
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