SUNIL NARINE was left fuming after becoming the first cricketer ever to be shown a red card.

The off-spin bowler was penalised by the umpires in the Caribbean Premier League T20 on Sunday.

He was punished for the Trinbago Knight Riders’ slow over rate in their six-wicket victory over the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

Narine appeared perplexed after being shown the red card, whilst his captain Kieron Pollard branded the sanction “absolutely ridiculous”.

Speaking after the match, Pollard fumed: “To be honest, it [further sanctions] will take away the hard work everyone has done.

“We are like the pawns and we are going to do what we are told.

“We are going to play as fast as we can. If you are penalised for 30-45 seconds in a tournament like this, it is absolutely ridiculous.”

Narine fell foul of new rules introduced for this year’s CPL, with teams cut down to 10 players when fielding in a bid to clamp down on slow over rates.

Red cards are shown if the fielding team are behind schedule at the start of the final over.

Teams are given 85 minutes to bowl all 20 of their overs during T20 matches.

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It is unclear whether red cards will be introduced to other forms of cricket in the future.

This summer’s Ashes series saw both England and Australia penalised for slow over rates.

Each side was docked World Test Championship points during the series as a result of their infringements.