Sunil Narine being reported for suspect bowling action has come “as a surprise” to Kolkata Knight Riders as well as the off-spinner himself, the franchise said in a statement on Monday.

Although Narine is permitted to continue bowling in the IPL, he wasn’t included in the XI for the game versus Royal Challengers Bangalore at Sharjah, with England batsman Tom Banton coming in as his replacement.

Captain Dinesh Karthik too didn’t elaborate when asked at the toss why Narine was dropped from the XI. He was quite menacing with his spells at the death in KKR’s last two matches, where they beat Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab.

The franchise, however, is hopeful of a quick solution.

“This came as a surprise to the franchise and Mr Narine, considering he has played over 115 games in the IPL since 2012... Furthermore, he was playing his sixth game this season, with no concerns expressed formally or informally by the match officials so far. Having said this, we are respectful of the process that the IPL has put in place to have his action reviewed,” the statement read.