Suryakumar Yadav illegal action

India batter and new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav helped his side earn a tie against Sri Lanka with ball in hand on Tuesday night. His solitary over in the match marked the first time he had bowled in T20 cricket since being reported for an illegal action in 2014. 

On July 30, India faced off against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I of the sides' bilateral series, in Pallekele. India had already won the series with victories in the previous two matches, and made wholesale changes to their playing XI here.

With the equation in Sri Lanka's run chase reading six runs to win from the final over, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav sprung a surprise as he took it upon himself to bowl, something he had never done in T20 internationals before.

'SKY' got the first delivery to turn and bounce sharply, away from Kamindu Mendis. The batter tried reverse-sweeping the next one, only to hole out in the deep. New man in, Maheesh Theekshana, then edged the next ball to the keeper. With just a single and two doubles from the next three balls, Surya and India managed to force a Super Over, which they eventually won.

While he was a bowling hero in Pallekele, there was a time when Surya came close to being a villain of sorts.

When Suryakumar Yadav was reported for an illegal bowling action

Back in 2014, cricket's governing bodies began cracking down on suspect bowling actions, in an attempt to eradicate throwing from the game. In the now-defunct Champions League T20 competition that year, a total of five bowlers were pulled up by umpires for suspected illegal actions — Dolphins' Prenelan Subrayen, Lahore Lions' Adnan Rasool and Mohammad Hafeez, and Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine and Suryakumar Yadav.

Read more: India player ratings after their T20I series win against Sri Lanka

Surya received the warning after sending down three overs of off-spin in the final of the competition, which KKR had lost to Chennai Super Kings. Post-match, a CLT20 media release stated that after reviewing the video evidence, the on-field umpires along with the third umpire felt that "there was a flex action in his elbow beyond the acceptable limit when bowling during the match".

The report meant Surya was placed on the 'warning list'. He had the option to request an official assessment of his action from the BCCI at that point. Being cleared of an illegal action then would have taken him off the list.

Had Surya been reported once again, while on the list, he would have been suspended from bowling (although were eligible to take part in matches) in any BCCI-organised matches until he was cleared. His KKR teammate Narine had been reported during the CLT20 semifinal while on the warning list, meaning the Trinidadian could not bowl in the final at all.

Being a part-time bowler, it is unlikely Surya underwent an assessment of his action. Even the worst case, of him being banned from bowling, was unlikely to affect his or his team's chances of success as he was selected as a batter. He did bowl relatively frequently in first-class and List A cricket after that, without being reported again. However, Tuesday's match was the first time he bowled in T20 cricket since being reported nearly a decade ago.

Surya bowled in an India jersey for the first time in November 2023, during the ODI World Cup against the Netherlands in Bengaluru, coincidentally the venue of that CLT20 final. Batters Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma also rolled their arm over in that game, with Kohli and Rohit taking a wicket each.

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