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Arjun Nair, the Sydney Thunder spinner, has been suspended for a suspect bowling action after undergoing testing at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. The testing followed a report questioning his action, which was filed by the officiating umpires in the Big Bash League match between the Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes on December 30. At the NCC, 19-year-old Nair was found to have bowled with an action "markedly different" from the one he used in the BBL match, and under Cricket Australia's regulations such a change incurs an automatic ban from all first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket for 90 days. He remains free to bowl in the Sydney club competition and is still a part of the Thunder squad as a batsman. "Arjun is a talented and popular member of our club," Thunder general manager Lee Germon said. "We believe he will have a long and successful career with Sydney Thunder and shall support him through this process." Nair has delivered his overs economically for the Thunder this season, and has been a bowler of some interest in Australian cricket for his ability to turn the ball both ways. He has spoken previously of developing his method by watching footage of the West Indian Sunil Narine on YouTube and trying to follow suit. "I was mainly a batsman who bowled part-time leggies," Nair said in 2016. "Then I started watching a bit of YouTube, clips of guys bowling carrom balls and stuff. I'd watch clips of past matches, slow it down, watch replays and pick things up here and there. "I started trying that for fun at the backyard with my dad and he couldn't pick it. At first I couldn't get many revs on the carrom ball, but over time and getting used to it, I've started to get more on it and my accuracy has improved. "I was 15 when I started bowling it, and I was bowling it in matches about four months after that. So it wasn't too long, but because batting was my main thing, it was just fun for me, I didn't really think about it too much, there wasn't pressure on me to quickly work on it. Now my bowling is getting ahead of my batting, so it's worked both ways." In addition to his T20 and limited-overs appearances, Nair has played four first-class matches, the most recent being a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales against Queensland in February 2017.
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