Jaspr Bumrah and Muttiah Muralitharan have been unwittingly dragged into the drama after Australian spinner Matt Kuhneman was reported for a questionable bowling action. Cricket Australia confirmed on Wednesday that Kuhneman had been reported after the second Test against Sri Lanka and would undergo a biomechanical test to ensure his bowling action was legal.

Cricket Australia has two weeks to arrange the test, which is likely to be held at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. Kuhneman will be allowed to play for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield while the test results are analysed, but he cannot participate in any ICC-sanctioned events.

Cricket Australia expressed surprise on Wednesday that Kuhneman was reported to have tested positive after eight years of professional cricket. The left-arm spinner played three Tests in India in 2023 and later escaped testing.

Bumrah and Muralitharan have certainly been dragged into the situation, with hundreds of comments on social media referring to the Indian and Sri Lankan players. Murali has bowled his entire playing career with a unique style of bowling and is the player with the most wickets in Test history, with 800.

Murali was infamously called out for ‘chacking’ in the 1995 Boxing Day Test in Australia, sparking international controversy. However, he has never been suspended in his 19-year career since the ICC finally changed the rules for his stance.

Murali was found to have two deformities in his arm, meaning it could not be fully straightened when he bowled, which led the ICC to give all bowlers more flexion. The rules now allow flexion, but before Murali it was only 15 degrees for spinners and 10 degrees for fast bowlers.

However, Australian broadcaster Andrew Voss told SEN radio on Thursday morning that if the ICC had allowed Murali to “chuck” when he bowled his wrong ball (doo-sra), Kuhmann would have had no case to answer. “I would say Muralitharan’s ‘doo-sra’ was a chuck,” Voss said. “If he had been green-lit, Kuhmann would have had nothing to worry about. If you let the greatest bowler give him a ball that he could spin, Kuhmann should be fine.”

Bumrah has also come under renewed scrutiny due to Kuhmann’s condition. Bumrah’s action at the start of the Test series against Australia this summer raised eyebrows, with many talking about the noticeable bend in the Indian star’s bowling arm.

But Bumrah has never been recorded, because the bend is considered hyperextension rather than flexion. Rather than bending Bumrah’s arm at a right angle, it naturally extends beyond its normal range.

Ian Pont, a former England player and renowned bowling coach, explained in 2022 why Bumrah’s action was deemed legal. “You can see his arm straight from the wrist to the elbow. “It can be done,” Pont wrote. “The rule is that the elbow should not be bent more than 15 degrees when it is above the vertical.

“You can clearly see the forward bend in his arm, it’s hyperextension. This (a forward bend) is allowed for people with hyper-mobile joints. Hyper-mobile means moving in the same direction as the movement – not down or sideways. That’s why Bumrah’s action is classified as legal, because it’s within the hyper-mobile guidelines.”

Queensland coach Johan Botha, who was suspended twice in his career in 2006, told SEN radio on Thursday that the stigma “never goes away” even if you’re released. The South African, who coaches Kuhmann in the BBL with the Brisbane Heat, said: “There’s always someone in the audience or in the other team who will say something. Unfortunately, this will be part of his career now.”

Australian cricketer Ian Healy suggested that Kuhneman had made a mistake by trying “something new”, but the spinner may not have been trying to cheat and may not have known if he had broken the rules. Botha added: “It’s just a minor setback for him and I’m sure it’s nothing serious. We’ll see what the results are.”

Australian bowler Chris Green was banned for 90 days in 2020 and had to change his bowling stance. International stars Shoaib Akhtar, Marlon Samuels, Kane Williamson and Saeed Ajmal have all been suspended for their actions in the past.