Former West Indies captain and batting icon Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards believes that the timings of International Cricket Council (ICC)'s crackdown on bowlers with suspect actions is wrong and it should have been done earlier.
Richards said that in his opinion such action should have been taken some time ago and on a wider basis because these bowlers have been there for quite some time.
Richards, who is working in Colombo with the West Indies 'A' team as technical director, said that he is not sure because the West Indies are touring India, there is going to be a World Cup next year, whether all this has something to do with it, adding that he just believes the timing has to be good, The Dawn reported.
The former skipper said that with the next World Cup around the corner this is not the correct time to take such measures.
West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine was reported twice for a suspect action during the recent Champions League T20 and was barred from bowling in the final and other BCCI tournaments. The West Indies Cricket Board took a precautionary measure of withdrawing him from the India tour to have his action assessed.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal, Bangladesh's Sohag Gazi, Zimbabwe's Prosper Utseya and New Zealand's Kane Williamson and some others have been reported for suspect actions and banned from bowling during the last year, the report added.
