5 Indian cricketers who have been called for chucking in last 5 years

As Muttiah Muralitharan continued to torment batsmen with his dooras, quite a few kids back in India gaped in admiration and wondered when, if ever, they would be able to replicate the mastery of the wily Sri Lankan legend. A decade later, they were the same men who went on to regret the absence of a statutory “Don’t try this at home” warning during Sri Lanka’s bowling.Muralitharan, in spite of being the legend that he is, has had to endure unremitting criticism and scathing remarks regarding his bowling action throughout his career, which, otherwise, has been quite illustrious of sorts. The outcome was such that he went on to confess publicly that the nightmarish biomechanical tests and frequent bowling arm examinations had exhausted him as much emotionally as physically.The stringent rules that govern the game of cricket present a conservative view to the bending of the bowling arm during delivery. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has, after many deliberations, codified the maximum extent of flexing of the elbow to 15 degrees, beyond which the delivery would be termed illegal and the bowler duly penalized.The extent of flexion of the elbow during a bowler’s delivery stride remains open for interpretation by the onfield umpires during a match. In the case of one or both the umpires finding a bowler guilty as above, the delivery is deemed illegal and the bowler is called for throwing.Instances of bowlers suffering the ignominy of being called for chucking during a match or being reported for suspect action have increased manifold in the last two decades. As the ICC strives to curb down cheating by empowering national boards and umpires, numerous cricketers, who had previously escaped punishment, find themselves ensnared by technology at the twilight of their careers.Although Abid Ali and Syed Kirmani remain the only Indians to be called for throwing in international matches after Madhusudan Rege in 1951, there have been quite a few occasions where domestic cricketers have ended up at the wrong end of the rule. I enlist here top five Indian bowlers who have been called for throwing during domestic matches in the last five years.

#1 Siddharth Trivedi

Siddharth Trivedi

As if the loss against Himachal Pradesh wasn’t humiliating enough, Gujarat Cricket Association was dragged into fresh troubles in the fag end of 2009 with their strike bowler Siddharth Trivedi being called by the umpires for chucking.

The lanky seamer, who had picked up six wickets in the first innings, was in for poor luck as the umpires called a no-ball twice in his two spells and cautioned him for an excessive transgression of the elbow. Doubts regarding the legality of his bowling action had already been raised during the Orissa tie, and the umpire G Pratap Kumar left no room for hesitation as he called a good-length delivery on the third ball of Trivedi’s over as a no-ball.

As the latest addition to the dubious list of cricketers with suspect actions, the Rajasthan Royals paceman had to leave for Bangalore in order to undergo a rigorous rehabilitation programme under the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before getting a sanction from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to participate in competitive cricket.

#2 Mohnish Parmar

Mohnish Parmar (R)

"My action was first reported soon after the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006. Following this, I went to the National Cricket Academy to correct my action. In fact, I was the first bowler who went to the NCA to rectify such a problem," Gujarat spinner Mohnish Parmar once confessed to the media.

However, he was told during his clearance at the NCA that there was no guarantee that he would not be called for chucking ever again, since once cannot predict the subtle alterations to the bowling action while playing. As fate would have it, Parmar was called by the umpires in an Elite Division Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra in 2010 forcing him to take a break and work on his bowling.

Idolizing the spin legend Muralitharan down to the extent of having a cross run-up had its initial pros

as the Gujarat offie had gone on to bag a lot of wickets with his doosra. But, when the axe fell, he realized he had to change his action and straighten his run-up in order to continue playing competitive cricket.

Parmar made his comeback against Maharashtra in Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and scalped two wickets for 27 runs against Saurashtra. He focused on his batting with hopes of fulfilling the role of an all-rounder in order to make up for his lost efficacy in bowling. He, ultimately, got his break in the 2012 Ranji season and has been a fairly consistent member in the playing eleven since.

#3 Rajesh Pawar

Rajesh Pawar

Thirteen years of First-class cricket and 17,394 balls in the long form of domestic cricket apparently failed to matter when Rajesh Pawar was called for throwing in a league match for Baroda against Delhi in 2009. Agonizing as it was, Pawar went on, without complaint, to the NCA in order to rectify his action.

He had toured the Indian Test team to Bangladesh and had been a frequent member of the India A team in Australia and Zimbabwe. However, the India label didn’t help as he was forced to alter his run-up and adjust his stride before receiving BCCI’s permit to play domestic cricket.

Delhi Daredevils signed him up on his comeback, but, at 33 years of age, the left-arm spinner had little hopes of donning the Indian jersey again. Meanwhile, the domestic circuit turned out to be unforgiving as Pawar went from door to door in search of vacancies before Andhra Cricket Association finally hired his services in 2012.

#4 Sarandeep Singh

Sarandeep Singh

Three wickets in five ODIs and ten in three Tests for India provided little immunity in a Super League Group A match between Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai in November 2009 as Sarandeep Singh found himself being called for chucking twice in two days.

After having completed the first innings cleanly, the 30-year-old incurred the wrath of umpires Sanjeev Rao and Nikhil Patwardhan in the second innings with the ultimate consequence of Himachal skipper Ashok Thakur taking him out of the attack. What’s astonishing was that never in his eleven years of first-class cricket hitherto had the spinner been called for throwing.

However, a few months earlier, the BCCI had raised question marks regarding his action during a Plate Division match against Kerala, but he was cleared at the NCA before the beginning of the domestic season.

#5 Sachin Chaudhari

Sachin Chaudhari

Sachin Chaudhari, a 27-year-old right-arm medium pacer, had had a promising start to his domestic career last year with an 11-wicket-match-haul against Tripura in his only second match en route to earning his team a nine-wicket victory. The hopes, however, shattered when he was called for throwing by both the on-field umpires in the following match against Hyderabad.

Umpires Nitin Pandit and Virender Sharma ended up calling the Maharashtra pacer twice on the penultimate day and for the third time in the second session on the final day, thereby barring him from bowling further in the match. Additionally, this meant Chaudhari had effectively ended his debut season playing only three matches and picking up 14 wickets at the expense of 573 runs.

As per the regulations, Chaudhari continues to remain unable for featuring in competitive fixtures unless his action is sanctioned by the BCCI. He continues to work at the NCA according to the recommendations of an expert three-member committee, which holds the absolute authority to clear him once he has undergone corrective measures.

#6 Special mention: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh

Although Team India regular Harbhajan Singh had never been called for chucking during an ongoing match, he had been reported to the ICC because of official concerns about his bowling action quite a few times. He was, of course, duly permitted to resume playing all forms of competitive cricket without sanction.

Harbhajan’s doosra had fluttered a lot of feathers, especially that of umpire Darrell Hair who went on to classify the former’s action as ‘highly suspicious’ in his book. The off-spinner was reported to the ICC thrice, in 1998, 2004 and 2005.

He was cleared by the ICC after undergoing a review process in 1998 and 2004, but not before he had to work on adjustments with Bruce Elliot, the Australian biomechanic expert. He had to go through an extensive biomechanical analysis at the University of Western Australia in order to satisfy the ICC in 2005.