Zimbabwe spinner Victor Chirwa suspended from bowling in international cricket

Zimbabwe’s Victor Chirwa has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the Event Panel of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup confirmed that he uses an illegal bowling action.

Zimbabwe’s Victor Chirwa has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the Event Panel of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup confirmed that he uses an illegal bowling action. The Event Panel comprised members of the ICC Panel of Human Movement Specialists.

Event Panel concluded that Chirwa employed an illegal bowling action

Chirwa was reported by the match officials during Zimbabwe’s match against Papua New Guinea on Saturday. Video footage of him bowling in the event was shared with the Event Panel for review.

The Event Panel concluded that Chirwa employed an illegal bowling action and, as such, in accordance with Article 6.7 of the regulations, he is immediately suspended from bowling in international cricket.

Meanwhile, Chirwa’s inability to bowl is indeed a massive blow for the Zimbabwe team. In two matches, the spinner took as many wickets with his economy rate being 5.25. However, it also must be noted the youngster has also been pretty useful with the bat in hand. He slammed 38 runs in his couple of outings so far with his strike being 146.15. Hence, he’s likely to continue in the playing XI.

Speaking of the ongoing Under-19 World Cup in West Indies, Zimbabwe U19 are slotted in Group C alongside Afghanistan, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. Under Emmanuel Bawa’s leadership, Zimbabwe started off well and walked away with an ennormous 228-run win in the opening clash against PNG.

However, things weren’t the same for them in the succeeding game against Pakistan. The Men in Green put up a dominating show and thrashed Zimbabwe by 115 runs at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex.

Zimbabwe’s next and final group-stage fixture is against an in-form Afghanistan team on Saturday (January 22). Notably, the Afghan side is currently leading the Group C team standings with two wins in as many games. Hence, Emmanuel Bawa’s team needs to put up an exceptional effort to find a place in the quarter-finals.