West Indies spinner Sunil Narine has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after his action has been found to be illegal.
An independent assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit. Narine’s action was reported earlier this month during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
In accordance with Article 6.1 of the regulations, “Narine’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations within domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction, save that, with the consent of the West Indies Cricket Board, Narine may be able to play in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the West Indies Cricket Board.”
The test was done on November 17 at ICC’s testing centre in Loughborough University. Narine can apply for re-assessment after modifying his action in accordance with clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.
Narine was playing against Sri Lanka after a gap of more than a year in international cricket, and finished with four wickets from three ODIs at an average of 18. He is currently the No. 1 ranked bowler in the ICC rankings for ODIs and T20Is.
Narine is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League for Comilla Victorians, and this suspension means he won’t be allowed to bowl in the BPL too. He will fly out of Dhaka on Sunday night itself.
“We were prepared for the announcement,” said Comilla Victorians owner Nafeesa Kamal. “We were told that we can expect something on November 29 so we had planned accordingly. We will definitely miss him. He was an asset to the team. We are now looking for a player to replace him.”
