Sunil Narine advised me not to respond to criticism, says Usman Tariq

Usman Tariq has revealed that Sunil Narine reached out to him during a period of scrutiny surrounding his bowling technique. The West Indian spinner, who has faced his own questions about his action throughout his career, offered counsel to the Pakistan bowler on how to handle the ongoing criticism.

Tariq disclosed the conversation while speaking with former Pakistan batter Fawad Alam. Narine called Tariq and the pair discussed the issue for almost 30 minutes.

"Sunil Narine called me, and we spoke for almost 30 minutes. He told me, ‘Whatever these people are doing, don’t respond to them. They’re only doing this because they can’t pick you. Just keep doing what you’re doing’," Tariq said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Tariq elaborated on Narine's perspective during the call. The Pakistan bowler explained that Narine said their actions were a result of frustration as they were unable to pick him, and all of their gestures came after he dismissed them, not when they were still batting.

“Narine called me just two days ago and discussed the issue for almost 30 minutes. He advised me not to respond to such gestures and to continue doing whatever has been working for me,” Tariq said.

“He said their actions were a result of frustration as they were unable to pick me, and all of their gestures came after I dismissed them, not when they were still batting. He explained that he was just passing on his experience, as he had also been through that phase in his career," he added.

Narine drew on his own experience to support Tariq. He explained that he was just passing on his experience, as he had also been through that phase in his career. Narine's action has been questioned multiple times, and he has been banned twice for his action, but he has cleared all the tests and come back to play cricket.

Tariq's bowling action has been under scrutiny in recent months. He underwent two biomechanical tests at Lahore's National Cricket Academy and officials cleared his action. Tariq has a hypermobile elbow, which makes it difficult for him to fully straighten his arm while bowling. He has been reported twice for a suspect action during the Pakistan Super League. Some batters, including Tom Banton and Cameron Green, showed off throwing actions in games, which appeared to be responses to facing Tariq.