Hours ahead of their clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the thirteenth edition of the IPL at Sharjah later in the evening, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have come out with an official statement over their frontline Windies spinner Sunil Narine being reported for suspect bowling action during the franchise's IPL 2020 encounter against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday last week.

The Shah Rukh Khan-owned KKR franchise have expressed their surprise over the report but added that they're working closely with the IPL for an "appopriate resolution."

Mr. Sunil Narine was reported for suspect action by the match officials after KKR’s match vs KXIP held on Oct 10, 2020 in Abu Dhabi," the statement read.

"This came as a surprise to the franchise and Mr. Narine, considering he has played over 115 games in the IPL since 2012 and as many as 68 games since 2015, when he was last reported during the IPL season for a suspect action before being subsequently cleared completely by SRASSC, an ICC accredited facility.

"Furthermore, he was playing his 6th game this season, with no concerns expressed formally or informally by the match officials so far.

"Having said this, we are respectful of the process that the IPL has put in place to have his action reviewed, and are working closely with the IPL in this matter. We are hopeful that there would be an appropriate resolution quickly. We appreciate the cooperation being extended by the IPL in expediting this matter."

The report was made by the on-field umpires according to the IPL’s Suspected Illegal Bowling Action Policy.

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In the context of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunil Narine's bowling action coming under the scanner is a worry for skipper Dinesh Karthik and the think tank. If Narine is called out once more for a suspect action, he wont be able to bowl in the remainder of the tournament.

Narine has forged a good partnership with spinner Varun Chakravarthy and the duo have come up with some decent spells in their franchise's recent wins. Narine played a major role in KKR's wins against CSK and KXIP as he bowled economically to restrict the opposition from scoring in crucial overs at the death.

Narine has picked up 5 wickets in six matches for Kolkata Knight Riders. The Windies spinner who did not start off the tournament on a good note, proving to be unusually expensive by his usual economical standards has come out with game changing performances in KKR's last two encounters against CSK and KXIP.