DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has found Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal guilty of ball tampering during Day 2 of the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka at Gros Islet and has banned him from playing the third and final Test of the series in Barbados.
Javagal Srinath, the former Indian pacer and the match referee also fined Chandimal 100% of his match fees, after a hearing held at the conclusion of the Test match.
The hearing was also attended by the match officials and the Sri Lankan team management.
Initially pleading not guilty to the offence after on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould accused him of the same, Chandimal admitted putting something in his mouth but couldn’t recall what it was. Srinath didn’t find the response credible.
“After reviewing the footage of the incident, it is clear that Dinesh applied an artificial substance to the ball, namely saliva containing the residue of something he had in his mouth, an action which is prohibited under the ICC Code of Conduct.”
“The footage shows that upon receiving the ball, Dinesh took something from his pocket and put it into his mouth. After sucking or chewing whatever he put in his mouth for a few seconds, Dinesh then proceeded to spit on his finger and polish the ball with his saliva which would have contained the residue of the artificial substance that he had in his mouth, on two separate occasions.”
“During the hearing, Dinesh admitted to putting something in his mouth but couldn’t remember what it was, which I found unconvincing as a defence and the fact remains it was an artificial substance.
“In the pre-series briefing held on the back of the ICC Cricket Committee recommendations, both the sides were explicitly told that the match officials would be extra vigilant towards all aspects of fair play, including changing the condition of the ball and as such it is disappointing that this has happened.”, Srinath commented.
ICC CEO David Richardson supported Srinath’s decision.
“The ICC fully supports the match officials in their decision and will continue to do so in any other such instances.
“The strong message from last month’s ICC Cricket Committee was that there needs to be stiffer sanctions for offences such as changing the condition of the ball and, as such, we will be recommending to the ICC Board at next month’s annual conference in Dublin to upgrade this to a Level Three offence.”
Courtesy this punishment, Chandimal has accumulated two suspension points, which adds up to four demerit points and could invite a harsher ban in the future for a similar kind of offence.
According to ICC rules, he has 48 hours to appeal against the decision. Should he do so, the matter is expected to fall in the hands of a Judicial Commissioner.
Chandimal, alongside team coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha have been charged for “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game” by the ICC, which is a Level 3 offence as per its Code of Conduct. They could be slapped with four to eight suspension points for the same. The trio have been accused for instigating the Sri Lankan team’s refusal to take to the field at the start of Day 3, which caused a two-hour delay for the day to begin.
