India press for Harbhajan review

By Ayanjit Sen
BBC, Delhi

Harbhajan has become one of the top spin bowlers in the world

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has urged the game's governing body to press on with work to re-model Harbhajan Singh's bowling action.

The International Cricket Council has yet to appoint an expert panel to examine the legality of his doosra.

Reviewing Harbhajan's action will take six weeks and the BCCI wants the preiod to begin on 17 January.

That should allow everything to be completed in time for the home Test series against Pakistan.

Harbhajan's action was reported following the second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong last month.

The doosra is an off-spinner's secret weapon, turning away from rather than into a right-handed batsman off the pitch.

It is the same delivery which resulted in Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan having to undergo remedial work.

The BCCI has nominated someone to serve on the review panel, although his name has not yet been revealed.

"We have already suggested the name and once the ICC clears it, we will start the process," Nair added.

It is the second time Harbhajan's action has come under scrutiny, having first been reported in 1998.