Akila Dananjaya Suspended From Bowling After ICC Finds His Action Illegal

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Monday, suspended Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after finding his bowling action to be illegal.

The independent assessment from the governing body of the game revealed that Dananjaya’s deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations.

According to Article 11.1 of the ICC Regulations For The Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspect Illegal Bowling Actions, Dananjaya’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations for domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction.

Akila Dananjaya Suspended From Bowling After ICC Finds His Action Illegal
Akila Dananjaya

But he might be able to ply his trade in domestic cricket according to Article 11.5. However, for that the spinner needs the consent of his parent body – Sri Lanka Cricket.

He was reported for a suspect bowling action after the first Test against England in Galle. On November 23, he underwent an independent assessment of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre, Brisbane. The Sri Lanka spin spearhead can apply for a re-assessment after modifying his bowling action.

Losing Dananjaya will be a huge blow for Sri Lanka who are set to tour New Zealand for a full-fledged series this month.   New Zealand will play Sri Lanka in two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I. The Test series gets underway on December 15 in Wellington.  Christchurch will host the second Test before both the teams take on each other in three ODIs. The tour will conclude with the one-off T20I on January 11.

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Akila Dananjaya Suspended From Bowling After ICC Finds His Action Illegal
Akila Dananjaya

At a time when not much is going right for the islanders in international cricket, they would be desperately hoping that the off-spinner modifies his action and gets it cleared as soon as possible. So far, Dananjaya has played 30 ODIs, 5 Tests and 16 T20Is.  Still new to Test cricket, he has already established himself as an important member of Sri Lanka’s limited-overs side.

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