PUNE: Maharashtra pacer Digvijay Deshmukh was reported for suspect bowling action in his
Ranji Trophy debut against J&K last week. The right-arm pacer was picked up in the IPL auction by
Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 20 lakh, also last week.
The 21-year-old bowling all-rounder picked up six wickets on his debut (2-15 & 4-46). Later in the match, batting at No. 8, he also scored 83 runs off 71 balls in the second innings in a losing cause.
Before the J & K match, Deshmukh had not played a multi-day game for Maharashtra even in age-group cricket. He made his debut last season in Under-23 limited-overs cricket.
This season he represented Maharashtra in seven Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches and picked up nine wickets. However, this is the first incidence of him being reported for suspect action.
Commenting about the issue, MCA Secretary Riyaz Bagwan told TOI: "He was reported for suspect bowling action in the previous match. We have received the letter from the match officials regarding details of the incidence/s i.e. innings, over No., and time. I have handed that letter to the team manager and the coach but I am unaware of the details of it."
"Although he is not suspended (from bowling) we do not want to take any risk and have excluded him from the squad for the Ranji game vs Chhattisgarh (starting Wednesday)."
"He was recently picked by Mumbai Indians in the IPL auction and getting suspended could affect his confidence, which we want to avoid, as he is an extremely good bowler. He will be travelling to
MRF Pace Foundation
, Chennai on Thursday, where his action will be rectified," Bagwan added.
When contacted by TOI, Digvijay declined to comment on the matter and said that he will get clarity on the subject only when team management informs him about further course of action.
Digvijay will certainly miss the game starting on Wednesday but it is uncertain when he will be back in action.
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