CHENNAI: His name doesn’t pop up immediately while reflecting on the ICC’s tirade against suspect actions, but Mohnish Parmar remains a relevant figure. Not a protagonist in this tale of prolonged inaction — three years of first-class cricket stopped in 2010 when his action modelled on Muthiah Muralitharan was deemed illegal — the spinner from Gujarat is a victim of a malpractice so widespread that it’s possible to overlook its true ramifications in the naked eye.
The ICC’s drive to report actions after allowing bowlers their full quota of overs over a long period of time has netted high-profile culprits like Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine. At the moment, at least five off-spinners can’t bowl in international cricket. The irony is, years of inactivity has fostered this problem into a monster. There were 35 on BCCI’s suspect list across men’s and women’s junior and senior sections last season with around 15 in men’s first-class cricket.
“Why let things come to this! That’s the bigger problem,” says former India spinner Maninder Singh, who welcomes the ICC initiative, but adds that many careers have been affected. “Parmar gave up everything else, didn’t study, for cricket. While Murali finished with 800 Test wickets, what happened to this poor kid? He was found improper when there was no time to go back and pursue another career. He must be struggling now. I’m sure there are more. People who allowed this should be blamed for playing with so many careers.”
Chucking wasn’t a malice in Indian domestic cricket till the 1990s. At times, fast bowlers drew attention while attempting the quicker one or the bouncer, but finger spinners booked in droves is a phenomenon of this millennium. There are off-spinners and left-armers on the BCCI list and international cricketers feel there are many in domestic cricket who prefer full sleeves to conceal the bend. A majority of them are convinced a doosra can’t be delivered legally. Why has chucking become a spinners’ preserve?
“If you’ve learnt to be a quick bowler with run-up, jump and delivery — it’s difficult to change and throw. The process is so quick that to remodel will take some doing. The act of bowling isn’t same with spinners. And why more off-spinners than left-armers? I guess that has something to do with role models,” says Deep Dasgupta, urging to explore why a bowler feels the need to do something outrageous, which can have serious consequences. According to the former India wicketkeeper, playing conditions in limited-over cricket have contributed to this.
“Two new balls or changing the ball after 35 overs before that are welcome introductions as far as bowlers in one-day cricket are concerned. But for years, pitches, smaller grounds and sophisticated bats tilted the balance in favour of batsmen, who also came up with many innovations. As a bowler, would you succumb to this or devise a new method? These factors should be considered for a holistic view of the problem. To eradicate this from the grassroots, players, umpires, coaches and associations should be involved. States should have coaches for action correction,” adds Dasgupta.
The BCCI panel to deal with this is headed by former India captain and ICC umpire S Venkataraghavan. Former fast bowler Jawagal Srinath and umpire A Jayaprakash are the other members. A former international umpire who has worked with them thinks the ICC’s methods to curb the menace are flawed. Like many players, he too is of the opinion that the old rule of umpires calling on the field was more appropriate. It’s a much talked about matter that the rule to report later with the 15 degree dictum has added confusion instead of arresting this crisis.
“When you report someone who has taken a few wickets in the match, the circumstances can change. I recommend the conventional method of calling on the spot. Only the authorities can say what they think, but this problem has been allowed to prosper. It should be stopped at the junior level, when the basics of bowling are taught. There are overzealous coaches who tolerate a lot of things as a means to attract. If tackled at the U-14 level, it can’t come this far,” he said.
Now 26 and a former India U-19 and India A blue, Parmar has been rejected in all forms of cricket. According to latest reports, he is without a job and wondering.
Chucked out
Bowlers banned recently: Saeed Ajmal (Pak), S Senanayake (SL), Shane Shillingford (WI), Prosper Utseya (Zim), Sohag Gazi (Ban)
■ Four reported in CLT20 including Sunil Narine (WI)
■ 35 on BCCI suspect list last season
■ About 15 cases in first-class cricket
■ Most are specialist bowlers
■ Suspects mainly off-spinners
■ Left-armers found guilty too
■ Full sleeve shirts used to conceal bend
