It never happened to him in his 11 years in first class cricket, but in the twilight of his career veteran off-spinner Sarandeep Singh finds himself at the receiving end of allegations that are anything but pleasant.
Twice in two days has Sarandeep been called for chucking by each of the two umpires in the Super League Group A match between Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai, at the Mumbai Cricket Association ground at Bandra-Kurla Complex.
This despite the fact that the 30-year-old's action was never questioned in the first innings, when he finished with figures of two for 29.
After square leg umpire Sanjeev Rao called the off-spinner for chucking on Wednesday, his colleague, Nikhil Patwardhan, followed suit on Thursday and Himachal captain Ashok Thakur immediately took the bowler out of the attack.
Sarandeep, who donned India colours in three Tests and five One-Day Internationals, never had any question marks regarding his action till a Plate Division match against Kerala last year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India found his action suspect then but he was later cleared at the National Cricket Academy before the start of the ongoing season.
Therefore, being called twice in the space of two days was both shocking and disappointing. And no one was more upset than Himachal coach Rajdeep Kalsi.
"We had them (Mumbai) cornered at 135 for four, but with our main spinner (Sarandeep) not bowling they eventually managed to surpass the 300-run mark," lamented Kalsi.
He, however, was guarded in his comments about the accusation per se.
"They must have seen the video recordings of his bowling after he was called first yesterday and we can't even complain, forget question, their decision," he said, before adding, "but the whole process in which all this has taken place isn't very convincing; it has definitely cost our prospects in the game."
Sarandeep is a key spinner for Himchal since moving from Punjab and displayed good form this season, claiming 11 wickets in three matches, including a splendid seven for 120 against Railways at New Delhi in the previous match.
The Mumbai team was, however, happy to see Sarandeep taken out of the attack.
"If someone is called for chucking, it is unfair for the team as well as for any other guy who is good but can't make it to the side because this bowler is part of it," explained Ajit Agarkar, who took advantage of Sarandeep not bowling to score a maiden first class century. It took the defending champions to 335 for seven declared, setting the visitors a target of 252 to win.
