A unique bowling action in which the bowler rotated 360 degrees in his run-up just prior to the delivery resulted in the signal of dead ball from the umpire on the third day of a CK Nayudu Trophy (four-day domestic tournament for India’s Under-23 state teams) match between Uttar Pradesh and Bengal in Kalyani, near Kolkata.
During Bengal’s second innings, UP left-arm spinner Shiva Singh – a member of India’s victorious team at this year’s Under-19 World Cup – jogged in and completed a 360-degree turn before delivering the ball. Umpire Vinod Seshanpromptly signalled dead ball, to the bemusement of Shiva and the UP fielders.
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Weirdo…!! Have a close look..!! pic.twitter.com/jK6ChzyH2T
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Talking to media, Shiva said he felt his action was perfectly fine and that the bowler – like batsmen, who are permitted to switch-hit – should be allowed an element of surprise. “I use different variations in one-dayers and T20s so I thought of doing the same because the Bengal batsmen were developing a partnership,” Shiva said. “The umpires said dead ball, so I asked “why are you calling it a dead ball?”
“I delivered this 360-degree ball against Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well, where it was fine. Batsman always go for the reverse-sweep or the switch-hit against bowlers. But when bowlers do something like this it’s deemed a dead ball,” he added.