Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has supported the recent crackdown on illegal bowling action and asked for stricter rules for bowlers involved in chucking.
Some of the leading bowlers, including Sunil Narine and Saeed Ajmal are reported for suspect actions recently. Ajmal is banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), while Narine was reported twice during the Champions League T20.
Gavaskar said that the umpires shouldn’t allow a bowler to bowl if they are not satisfied with the action. He pointed out that there is no point of reporting after the match if he has completed his quota of overs in the tie.
“There is no point in reporting a bowler after he has won a ODI for his team with a suspect action,” Gavaskar said. “That is no good. If they’re unhappy with the action, they should ask the captain to take him off. That should be the way forward.”
“Rather than reporting suspect actions, the umpires should straightaway tell the captain that they aren’t happy with that particular bowler’s action and shouldn’t be bowled any further and if he is bowled, they will report,” he added.
“I think it’s when the bowlers are a little tired or when they are putting in a little bit more effort then the flex extends more than 15 degrees and the naked eye certainly catches it,” he concluded. “I think that’s what has happened with all these bowlers and that’s why they are being reported.”
