Sunil Narine made a wicket-less return in KKR's seven-wicket win over MI.
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Wednesday's clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians was the first match of IPL 8. It was played only 10 days after the World Cup finished. Sunil Narine didn't play in the World Cup. But he bowled the 7th over of the opening game of IPL 8. Why did Narine not play the World Cup, the biggest tournament of them all, a tournament that teams and players plan ahead for and a tournament that only shows up once every 4 years? (Sunil Narine 2.0, Sizzle or Fizzle )
Narine's bowling action was first reported as suspect in the Champions League Twenty20 in October last year. After that he was under the watchful eye of Kolkata Knight Riders. He did not play international cricket for more than 3 months. Narine worked with coaches in Trinidad and Dr Daryl Foster in Perth, Australia. He would eventually return in West Indies' domestic tournamet, Nagico Super50, and help his side Trinidad and Tobago win the tourney with 6 wickets in the final. Shortly after he decided to pull out of the World Cup saying 'Whilst I am very happy with the progress made to date with my action, and I express my thanks to the coaches working with me in Trinidad and Dr Daryl Foster in Perth, Australia, I am withdrawing from the World Cup.' The question is 'aren't 6 wickets enough to make you believe your action is fine to help West Indies fight for the World Cup?' (Narine Finishes Wicketless on Return to Bowling Crease )
West Indies went Narine-less to the World Cup and put up a sorry performance. 1 day after the World Cup final came a report which said that Kolkata was threatening to pull out of the IPL if Narine's action wasn't allowed to play. 6 days after the World Cup and 3 days before KKR's match in the IPL that Narine's action was cleared by the BCCI committee. The timing is suspect to anyone.
"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 warning list of bowlers with suspect action," a BCCI press release said.
Dean Jones told NDTV that 'Narine has till date not been tested by the ICC machinery' which has cracked down on suspect bowling actions. He has not played a single international match ever since first being reported in the Champions League T20, even skipping the World Cup. But the moment the power of the BCCI and KKR are behind him he has returned to action. The obvious question is - Is Narine afraid of competing in tournaments played under the eye of ICC?
''If he goes and plays in tournaments under the purview of the ICC, he is opening himself up to be reported by the ICC. If he is reported. He faces a one year ban/suspension. The other choice he has is to maintain the status quo of playing in the IPL where his action has been passed by the BCCI. So even though he might be losing around 70,000 USD by not playing for West Indies, he still maintains his contract with KKR which is far more lucrative. So I feel he may never play for the West Indies again'. said Dean Jones to NDTV.
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