LONDON, CMC – Cricket’s world governing body, the ICC, announced late yesterday it had cleared Sunil Narine to bowl again, paving the way for the West Indies off-spinner to participate in the cash-rich Indian Premier League starting Saturday.
The 27-year-old successfully underwent tests at the Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai on March 28, after spending months remodelling his action.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed that following remedial work and retest, the bowling action of the West Indies’ Sunil Narine has been found to be legal, and the off-spinner can now resume bowling in both international cricket and domestic cricket events worldwide,” an ICC statement said.
“At the retest, it was revealed that the amount of elbow extensions in Narine’s bowling action for all his deliveries that were tested was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations for the review of bowlers reported with suspected illegal bowling actions.”
However, the ICC said that umpires were “free to report Narine in the future if they believe he uses a suspect action.”
Narine had been reported by umpires during West Indies’ one-day series against Sri Lanka last November and later than month banned, after tests showed his action was exceeding the 15 degrees tolerance allowed under ICC regulations.
News of his clearance came hours after Kolkata Knight Riders coach Jacques Kallis told reporters in India that the franchise was unaware of the ICC’s verdict.
However, the development will be great news for Knight Riders as Narine has been the heart of their bowling attack in recent seasons.
He snapped up 22 wickets in 2013 and starred again the following year with 21 wickets, as Knight Riders captured the title.
However, twice called during the 2014 Champions League, Narine subsequently struggled with a remodelled action last year, taking just seven wickets from eight IPL games.
Following his latest ban, he was selected for the just concluded T20 World Cup pending tests on his action but withdrew from the squad, citing the need to continue rehabilitation.
