Mystery spinner Sunil Narine was on Sunday cleared to play for defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming Indian Premier league after the BCCI’s review committee dealing with suspect action gave the West Indian clean chit. Narine was first called for a suspect action last October during a KKR match in the Champions league T20.
The review committee, comprising S Venkataraghavan, Javagal Srinath and AV Jayaprakash examined the bowling action of Narine after he had undergone a biomechanical assessment at the ICC-accredited SRMC centre here. Narine had taken a re-test at Sri Ramachandra University on Thursday where he was put through various tests by the panel headed by former Indian fast bowler Srinath.
“The committee concluded that Sunil Narine, who had remodeled his bowling action, was within the ICC approved limits for all types of deliveries that were assessed and has hence recommended to the BCCI, that his name may be removed from the warning list of bowlers with suspect action,” the BCCI said in a statement.
Narine will now be available for selection for the defending champions, who play the tournament opener against Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. “I am happy that we will witness Sunil Narine in action in the Pepsi IPl 2015, since he is now cleared by the BCCI committee. We look forward to the opening match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on the 8th of April in Kolkata, which promises to provide an exciting start to the tournament,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore was also delighted with Narine being cleared of suspect action. “Greatly relieved and happy for Sunil Narine. Sincere thanks to president and secretary of BCCI and the committee for the positive outcome,” Mysore tweeted after BCCI made their decision official.
Narine important in our scheme of things: Shakib
Kolkata: KKR all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on Sunday said the BCCI’s clean chit to Sunil Narine’s bowling action was a big relief for the reigning champions ahead of IPl-8 cricket tournament. Mystery spinner Narine was cleared to play for Kolkata Knight Riders after the BCCI’s review committee dealing with suspect action gave the West Indian a clean chit. “Of course, a big news for us. He has always played a big role for the team. He’s very important in our scheme of things. We came to know this maybe last night or this morning,” the Bangladeshi allrounder told reporters here.
Having got the clearance from the Board which communicated the development through a statement, Narine, who skipped the first two days practice sessions, finally turned up for practice at the Eden Gardens this evening. The KKR ‘trump card’ got the biggest applause from fans who screamed ‘Narine, Narine’ as he stepped out of the team bus.
But a thunderstorm just before they checked into the ground denied Narine a chance to bowl at the nets with the corrected action. The team members later used the indoor facility of the Cricket Association of Bengal as most of the areas were soggy and under water. Fresh from his memorable show at the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand, Indian pacer Umesh Yadav joined the Knight Riders camp. Kolkata Knight Riders kick start the tournament by taking on Mumbai Indians here on Wednesday.