Sunil Narine suspended from bowling in CLT20 final

Sunil Narine

Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Sunil Narine has been suspended from bowling in the Champions League T20 final, which is set to take place in Bangalore on Saturday.

Just two days ago, the West Indian bowler was reported in the match against Dolphins, where the umpires on the day found his bowling action on the quicker delivery to be suspect. Despite not using that particular ball in today’s match against Hobart Hurricanes, on-field umpires Rod Tucker and S Ravi were not convinced with the Trinidadian’s bowling action.

Under CLT20 rules, any bowler reported twice for a dodgy action gets suspended. Narine is now banned from bowling in any tournament hosted by the BCCI, which means he will miss the Indian Premier League next year as well, unless he rectifies his bowling action by then.

This ban has no effect on the 26-year-old’s international career and can take part in the ODI series against India, which commences on October 8.

Narine has been enjoying a stellar tournament, currently leading the wicket-takers list with 12 scalps to his name from 5 matches. He has also picked up the most wickets in the history of the competition, having taken 38 wickets over the years. 

He will be a huge miss for the Kolkata-based side, who are currently on a 14-match winning streak with Narine being the most vital cog of the team.

Narine is still eligible to play purely as a batsman in the final, but it is unlikely Gautam Gambhir and co. will even think of such an arrangement.