Cricket Australia will work closely with rising Sydney Thunder star Arjun Nair to remedy his action following a three-month suspension from bowling handed down this month.
After undergoing testing at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Queensland on January 4, Nair was unable to reproduce his in-game bowling action from the December 30 BBL clash against the Hobart Hurricanes, during which umpires reported him for three suspected illegal deliveries.
That gave Cricket Australia no choice but to suspend the all-rounder from bowling for three months as per its Suspected Illegal Bowling Action Procedures document.
Item 5.1 (i) of the document states that if "The player's bowling action during the analysis was materially different to their action in the Match in respect of which he/she was reported, the player shall immediately be suspended from bowling in interstate and W/BBL cricket until such time as he/she has submitted to a fresh analysis".
Nair was suspended due to being unable to replicate the action he produced on December 30, not for bowling illegally. He is still allowed to play in Big Bash and interstate matches, but only as a batsman.
The 19-year-old, who has been slated as a future Australian player, is also still permitted to bowl at club cricket level.
It was not disclosed whether it was Nair's Doosra that led to the umpire reporting him for an illegal action. A Doosra is an off-spin delivery that turns away from the right-handed batsman, a ball that has proven very difficult to bowl by international cricketers over the years without bending their arm beyond the permitted 15 degrees.
Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh and Johan Botha among others have all been reported for bowling the mysterious ball. Given the biomechanical pitfalls of the delivery, young spinners coming through the Cricket Australia are not taught how the bowl the Doosra.
CA will retest Nair in early April, and if his action is deemed legal he'll be allowed to return to bowling.
He won't need to replicate his action from the December 30 match against Hobart, as per his test this month, only prove that his bowling action is legal.
Sydney Thunder general manager Lee Germon said the franchise was also working closely with Nair through his bowling suspension.
"Arjun's got a big future with us and I firmly believe that," Germon said.
"We'll work with him, confident he can get over this and I think he's got a big role he can play for us, he's shown that already with the ball, we know he can bat well. He's got a bright future.
"He can certainly bowl in nets and training sessions and we'll be working with him through that to help him next time he is tested, get through it in a clean manner.
"We've got no doubt he can do it. He's really responded really well as a 19-year-old fella.
"The fact he wanted to play this game [Saturday against the Melbourne Stars] as a batsman as well I think was really courageous of him.
"Now we help him, get him prepared so he doesn't have to face this ever again."
Meanwhile, Callum Ferguson has been ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his hamstring against the Stars, while Usman
Khawaja has been cleared of a fractured thumb.
