West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine has withdrawn from the forthcoming World Cup as he needs to spend more time remodelling his bowling action. The West Indies Cricket Board said he is not yet ready to “confidently bowl for a sustained period in international cricket with his new action”. A replacement will be named shortly. Narine, 26, was twice reported for a suspect action in September and October while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League Twenty20. That caused him to be barred from bowling in the CLT20 final, but as that event is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it did not affect his participation in international cricket.
However, the WICB has not selected him for any international matches since then, amid fears that his action might be reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has the power to suspend him from bowling. “For both West Indies and my sake we have decided to delay my return to international cricket until I am 100% confident in all that I do,” said Narine, who helped Trinidad and Tobago win the domestic Super50 competition at the weekend. The World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, begins on 14 February, with West Indies’ first match against Ireland in Nelson two days later. However, it means the top two bowlers in the ICC’s one-day international bowling rankings – Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who remains suspended from bowling from the ICC for a suspect action, and Narine – will miss the showpiece 50-over world event. Aside from Ajmal, eight other off-spinners have been reported to the ICC for illegal actions in the last 14 months.
