Hyderabad: In a major blow to Kolkata Knight Riders just after winning the semifinal against Hobart Hurricanes, their Caribbean off-spinner Sunil Narine was today reported for the second time for a suspect illegal bowling action and he will not be eligible to bowl in the CLT20 final on Saturday, the organisers of the tournament said.
“Kolkata Knight Riders player Sunil Narine will not be eligible to bowl in the Oppo CLT20 final following a report on his suspected illegal bowling action,” a media advisory from CLT20 said.
“Mr Narine was reported for a second time in as many matches over a suspected illegal bowling action during this evening's Oppo Champions League Twenty20 semi-final game against the Hobart Hurricanes at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad,” it said.
The organisers said that after all video evidence of the match was taken into account, on-field umpires Rod Tucker and S Ravi along with third umpire Vineet Kulkarni felt that there was a flex action in Narine's elbow beyond the acceptable limit when bowling during the match.
“Under the CLT20 Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, if a player receives a report while on the warning list, the player shall be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the tournament and from bowling in any matches organised by the BCCI until such date as he is cleared.
“Mr Narine is suspended from bowling, but may continue to be selected to play in matches, however he will not be entitled to bowl,” the advisory said.
“The team will be advised to send the player to the SRMC (Sri Ramachandra Medical College) for testing as per the testing protocol set by the ICC. SRMC is accredited by the ICC as a testing center for suspected illegal bowling action.”
Narine was first reported on September 29 during the Kolkata Knight Riders match played against the Dolphins on the same ground here by on-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and Chettithody Shamshuddin along with third umpire Kumar Dharamsena.
The West Indian took 1/24 from his quota of four overs in KKR's semifinal win over Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets here today to book a berth in the final to be played in Bangalore on Saturday.
