IPL 2020: Kolkata Knight Riders Hopeful For "Quick Resolution" To Sunil Narine Being Reported For Suspect Bowling Action

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has said that the franchise is "respectful of the process that the Indian Premier League has put in place" and hoping for the "quick resolution" of spinner Sunil Narine's suspect action. Narine was reported for a suspect action by the match officials after KKR's match against Kings XI Punjab held on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Both KKR and Narine were surprised by the incident as the latter had already played six games in the tournament with no concern.

"This came as a surprise to the franchise and Narine, considering he has played over 115 games in the IPL since 2012 and as many as 68 games since 2015, when he was last reported during the IPL season for a suspect action before being subsequently cleared completely by SRASSC, an ICC accredited facility," KKR said in a statement.

"Furthermore, he was playing his 6th game this season, with no concerns expressed formally or informally by the match officials so far. Having said this, we are respectful of the process that the IPL has put in place to have his action reviewed, and are working closely with the IPL in this matter. We are hopeful that there would be an appropriate resolution quickly. We appreciate the cooperation being extended by the IPL in expediting this matter," it added.

Speaking to ANI, former BCCI Treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry -- first chairman of the Data Management Committee of the board that rolled out the online database management system used by the BCCI in the administration of domestic cricket -- said that it was time to introduce the use of artificial intelligence in such cases to increase the fairness quotient of the game.

"The need of the hour is to explore the usage of artificial intelligence in conjunction with the broadcast feed to know the angle of extension of the bowling arm in real-time for every delivery. In addition to this, it is high time to revisit the balance between the on-ground umpires and the third umpire to ensure greater consistency of accurate decisions. All this would just enhance the fairness quotient of the game," he said.

"To be honest this entire situation of disallowing, then allowing and then disallowing someone is quite bizarre. The IPL authorities are doing their job well and playing by the book and that is commendable. However, for a player and the fans, it''s like a ping pong back and forth. Let''s not focus on Narine here but on the processes that are in place because a player is only following the process that exists," he explained.

Topics mentioned in this article

Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab IPL 2020 Sunil Narine Cricket