Sunil Narine's 'off-spinning' ban extended to international cricket

Sunil Narine cannot play international cricket until he is cleared

There seems to be more trouble on the horizon for West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine as his IPL ban, with regards to bowling off-spinning deliveries, has now been extended to international cricket. The 26-year-old was banned from bowling his off-spinners after he was reported for a dodgy action in an IPL match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The ban was imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with this being the second instance of the Indian board suspending the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowler. He was banned from the Champions League T20 final last year after being reported for a suspect action twice in that tournament.

With the ban being extended to international cricket, Narine cannot represent West Indies until he is cleared.

The Trinidadian last played for the Carribean side in August 2014 and was a surprise omission from their World Cup squad. He had also given the tour to India last year a miss just after the CLT20 ban.

Narine was a vital member of KKR’s lineup as the franchise from Kolkata won the IPL twice – 2012 and 2014, with the West Indian named as the Player of the Tournament in 2012. Despite having a number of spinners – Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, KC Cariappa, Kuldeep Yadav – in their ranks, KKR will find it hard to replace Narine.

Narine has represented West Indies in 6 Tests, 52 ODIs and 32 T20Is, and played an important part in his side’s triumph in the ICC World T20 in 2012.