It's big news for us... we needed this, says Shakib
Calcutta: Three days before the Kolkata Knight Riders launch their campaign, the defending champions received a shot in the arm as off-spinner Sunil Narine was cleared to play in IPL 8.
The BCCI's sub-committee dealing with suspect actions gave him a clean chit on Sunday after Narine had gone through a test at Sri Ramachandra University, an ICC-accredited centre in Chennai, on Thursday.
Narine was put through various tests by the panel comprising former India captain Srinivas Venkataraghavan, former India fast bowler and Match Referee Javagal Srinath and ex-international umpire A.V. Jayaprakash.
"The committee concluded that Mr Sunil Narine, who had remodelled his bowling action, was within the ICC approved limits for all types of deliveries that were assessed and has hence recommended to the BCCI, that his name may be removed from the list of bowlers with suspect action," the BCCI said in a press release.
Narine will be available for selection when the Knight Riders play the tournament opener against the Mumbai Indians, at Eden Gardens, on Wednesday.
Narine bowled at the indoor nets during practice at the Pankaj Gupta Memorial Indoor Centre after having decided to skip practice during the last couple of days. A downpour late afternoon on Sunday robbed the Knight Riders of practice on the Eden turf. Though Narine refused to say anything, the sense of relief was palpable on his face.
His teammates were also happy. "It's a big news for us. We came to know about it only this morning... He has always played a big role in our success.
"He's been very important in our scheme of things. This has come at the right time and we needed this," said Shakib-al Hasan.
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Narine has been a key factor behind Knight Riders' success in the IPL . The franchise emerged champions in 2012 and 2014. Narine was the second-highest wicket-taker last season with 21 wickets in 16 matches.
However, it remains to be seen if Narine manages to retain his wicket-taking abilities with his remodelled action. Narine recently made a comeback to competitive cricket with Trinidad & Tobago in the Nagico Super50, including a career-best 6 for 9 in the final to overwhelm Guyana.
More importantly, Narine achieved that feat with his new bowling action, which he has been working extensively on in the company of experts like Saqlain Mushtaq.
Much before it was made public, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya informed the Knight Riders management of the good news, revealed sources.
Narine was reported twice in successive matches for a suspect action during the Champions League T20 last September. Subsequently, he was asked by the BCCI to get his action tested at any of the ICC-accredited centres with a rider saying that he would need to travel to Chennai if the panel deemed fit.
Objecting to this condition, the Knight Riders management had sought the intervention of Dalmiya and lodged a protest. The Knight Riders' contention was that he had already submitted a clearance report issued by the testing centre at University of Loughborough, another ICC accredited centre, in early March.
The Knight Riders questioned why the BCCI would not accept the report from the Loughborough centre if the ICC accredited centres all over the world followed the same apparatus, procedures and tests, and asked why a second report was required. Dalmiya, however, said that the BCCI was only going by the rule-book.
Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders' chief executive and managing director, tweeted: "Greatly relieved and happy for Sunil Narine. Sincere thanks to president and secretary of BCCI and the committee for the positive outcome."
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Source: telegraphindia.com
