Knight Riders back Narine

PORT OF SPAIN, CMC:

Sunil Narine's Indian Premier League franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, has thrown its full backing behind the embattled off-spinner, following his abrupt withdrawal from the West Indies Twenty20 World Cup squad.

Despite being banned from bowling in international cricket last November, the Trinidadian was named in a 15-man squad for the ICC tournament starting in India next month - pending a test on his action at the

ICC-accredited Loughborough University in England this month.

Last Friday, however, Narine pulled out of the squad citing the need for more time to work on his action.

Venky Mysore, the CEO of Knight Riders, said they were backing Narine to make a successful return to international cricket despite the latest setback.

"We don't have any such

concerns because he is a champion," Mysore said.

UNUSUAL ACTION

"His action is one of its kind in the world and what tends to happen is that in a match situation when umpires look at him, it is an unusual action which is what makes him so effective."

Narine has battled with the legality of his action in recent times. He was twice called in the Champions League Twenty20 two years ago, and then was forced to undergo a Indian Cricket Board-approved test before he could play in last year's IPL.

Narine was again called while representing West Indies in Sri Lanka, and a subsequent test showed his action exceeded the legal requirements under ICC regulations.