Mystery Spinner Arjun Nair Cleared of Suspect Bowling Action

Cricket Australia, on Friday (June 1), cleared Sydney Thunder mystery spinner, Arjun Nair of his illegal bowling action.

Nair was suspended during last year’s Big Bash League but has now been cleared to resume bowling in all competitions after having served a three-month ban.

Nair was reported during the game against Hobart Hurricanes on December 30 before CA slapped him with a three-month ban. The spinner’s bowling action was deemed to be “markedly different” during subsequent biomechanical testing.

Since then, Nair worked with Beau Casson, as well as Cricket NSW pathways coach, Anthony Clark, to get his action right.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Nair said the setback was a big blow for him in his maiden BBL season.

“It was obviously a big blow,” Nair told cricket.com.au. “I was very disappointed, and it took me quite a while to get my head around it. Not just for me, but it was really hard for my family. My Dad is very involved with my cricket, so I think he was more affected by it than I was.

“I worked with him on bowling a lot as well. After I’d finished bowling with Beau and Anthony, I went with my Dad and did some extras. I was always confident that I’d be able to fix it and return. I had a lot of support from NSW teammates and the Sydney Thunder,” he added.

Nair further spoke about how he and his team went about after CA imposed the ban on him.

“My coaches and I sat down and looked at my footage and the thing I noticed was that I didn’t use much of my lower body,” Nair explained. “So I had to engage my legs more in my action. That was the key. I’ve been looking at my arm path as well – just little things, but they made a big difference to my action.

The spinner also said he wants to make sure he never gets banned again. Nair has modelled his bowling style on West Indian star Sunil Narine, who has also been reported several times for an illegal action.

“For me, the challenge is now to maintain it. You see a lot of bowlers who have been in this position and had a problem, they come back and get reported again. I have to make sure I don’t lapse and keep in the back of my mind that I have to keep being consistent,” he said.

Following the ban, Nair had played as a specialist batsman and had impressed. He has scored 45 off 25 against Melbourne Renegades that gave the Thunder an unlikely win.

In March, Nair posted an unbeaten 95 in a Toyota Futures League match for NSW against Victoria. Nair will now be looking to make up for the lost time by impressing with the ball.