West Indies all-rounder Kevin Cooper reported for suspect action in the PSL
West Indies all-rounder Kevin Cooper has been reported for possessing a suspect bowling action during the ongoing inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The 27-year-old, who is an integral member of the Lahore Qalandars franchise, was reported by the match officials during his side’s match with Quetta Gladiators on Tuesday.
This is the third time in his career that Cooper has been reported for a suspect action following his earlier trysts in 2011 during the Carribean Premier League and later in 2014 while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Cooper has for now been placed on a warning list and is permitted to bowl. However, should he be reported again during this warning period which runs until the culmination of the PSL, he will be suspended immediately from bowling in the PSL or any matches organised by the PCB, until the player remodels his action satisfying the permissible limits.
“Lahore bowler Cooper has been reported for suspect action by match officials," said a PSL release. "Under the PSL Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, if a player is reported while on the warning list, the player shall be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the PSL tournament and from bowling in any matches organised by the PCB until such date as he is cleared or upon conclusion of any ineligibility period."
The PSL management, however, clarified that a player suspended for possessing a suspect bowling action can be selected in the playing eleven, purely as a batsman. It also added that the corrective action will be under the guidance of the national board, which in Cooper’s case will be the WICB.
"A player suspended from bowling may continue to be selected to play in matches, however, he will not be entitled to bowl,” the PSL statement continued. “If suspended under the PSL Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, Mr Cooper will have to go through the rehab process made applicable by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)"
Cooper is the latest in the long list of bowlers, which includes former World No 1 bowlers such as Sunil Narine and Saeed Ajmal, who have been cracked the whip since the ICC started coming down hard on illegal bowling action, back in June 2014. However, this is the first such instance in the PSL.
The lanky all-rounder may not have featured for the West Indies at the international level but is an ever-present in various domestic T20 leagues around the world, turning out for Trinidad and Tobago in the CPL, Barisal Bulls in the Bangladesh Premier League, Uthura Rudras in the Sri Lanka Premier League and more famously for the now-suspended RR franchise in the IPL.