West Indies mystery off-spinner Sunil Narine has again been reported with a suspect bowling action during the third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Pallekele earlier this month.
Narine finished with figures of 0 for 24 in the Pallekele ODI, which Sri Lanka won by 19 runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis method. The match officials’ report, handed to the West Indies team management after the game, cited concerns about the legality of Narine’s deliveries.
The Trinidadian player will need to undergo testing on his action within 14 days but will be permitted to continue bowling until the results of his testing are known.
This is the first time Narine has been reported in an international game, though he has undergone scrutiny of his action during the Indian Premier Leagues (IPL) and the Champions League Twenty20. He was reported twice in two matches during the 2014 edition of the CLT20 forcing him to miss Kolkata Knight Riders’ final game against Chennai Super Kings.
Though he was free to bowl in international cricket, West Indies withdrew Narine from their tour of India to allow him “the opportunity to have his action assessed and plan his return to cricket.”
West Indies left him out of all their subsequent international assignments until they picked him for the 2015 World Cup. Though he remodeled his action in the interim Narine, pulled out of the tournament, saying his return would be “a little too much too soon.”
Narine endured further problems with his action during the 2015 IPL — he was first cleared to bowl in the tournament, but was reported and sent for a re-test, and was banned from bowling his off-breaks, and then cleared again with a “final warning.”
The Sri Lanka tour was Narine’s first international tournament since August 2014. He picked up four wickets at an average of 18.00 in the three ODIs, while conceding 3.34 runs per over.
