Pras blames ICC for mess, extends support to Murali

Former Test off spinner Erapalli Prasanna has said the International Cricket Council should take the blame for the messy issue of suspect bo...

Former Test off spinner Erapalli Prasanna has said the International Cricket Council should take the blame for the messy issue of suspect bowling action and that it was unfair to haul up Sri Lankan offie Muttiah Muralitharan now when he was on the verge of making history.

Commenting on the chucking controversy, which has hit the headlines again following the reporting of Muralitharan, the Indian legend said it was unfair to put any bowler under scrutiny after he had played years of international cricket.

8220;Without going into Muralitharan8217;s doosra, I would like to say, 8216;Don8217;t blame any bowler for suspect action after he had played 80-90 Tests and been on the scene for 10 years or more,8221; said Prasanna. 8220;If at all there was any problem, it should have been dealt with at the early stages. To subject a bowler to such tests when he is on the verge of making history, it is ridiculous. Things like 8216;biomechanics8217; is just jargon. I think the ICC should take much of the blame for the present state of things.8221;

Prasanna, who mesmerised batsmen with his teasing off-breaks in the 60-70s, said the psychological aspect of why a bowler chucks should be studied more in detail rather than the biomechanical factor. 8220;We must try and find out why a bowler chucks. We must understand the psychology of the bowler by asking if he is under any pressure of if he is gaining any unfair advantage by bowling such a delivery,8221; Prasanna said.

He also expressed bemusement at the interpretation of cricket law with regard to illegal deliveries and called for a change in the process of dealing with the same. 8220;I am surprised as to where these degrees have come from,8221; the 63-year-old said referring to the biomechanics8217; report on Muralitharan.

The report on Muralitharan said the Sri Lankan straightened his arm by 14 degrees as against the permissible five degrees.

8220;To my knowledge, the laws of cricket do not talk about any degree. If the arm straightens, by any degree, then it is illegal. If there is any amendment to the law, I do not know. In my vocabulary, a deviation is a deviation,8221; he said.

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The former great, however, disagreed that an off-spinner cannot bowl an away going delivery. 8220;In our days, too, we used to bowl the floater, the drifter and such away going deliveries. Doosra is a modern terminology. There is no reason why an off spinner cannot take the ball away from the batsman, if he can impart enough spin to it,8221; said the former player who played in 49 Tests and took 189 wickets.