Dinesh Chandimal Appeals Against ICC's Sanction Over Ball Tampering Charge

Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal has appealed against the charges which have been levelled against him following the suspension over the ball-tampering issue during the second Test against Windies.

The charges were levied by match referee Javagal Srinath on the basis of a video evidence after the end of the third day’s play. The news was confirmed by the world board International Cricket Council (ICC).

A legal battle will follow now and it will interesting to see how it pans out. It will be a battle between Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) lawyers and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Interestingly, it came after SLC decided to contest the sanctions imposed by the ICC. Javagal Srinath had charged the Sri Lankan skipper with a one-match ban and a fine of 100% match fee.

However, it was learnt that the ICC CEO Dave Richardson had charged Chandimal, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and team manager Asanka Gurusingha of a more serious offence.

It was a Level three offence which also relates to the conduct that is pretty much contrary to the spirit of the game.

However, the visitors were held responsible for holding up a pla for two hours on the morning of Day 3 of the Test fixture.

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The umpires charged them of altering the condition of the ball. After Sri Lanka’s decision to challenge the contest, the ICC has to appoint a Judicial Commissioner to hear the case.

Hence, the trio of Chandimal, Hathurusingh, and Gurusinha won’t be suspended for the third Test in Barbados.

Moreover, A Level 3 offence carries a penalty of a two-match to four-match Test match ban. If found guilty the trio will miss the majority of the home series against South Africa.

SLC have contested for the inconsistency of rule:

Sri Lanka is learned to have contested the charge on the basis of the inconsistency of the rule and not following the procedures correctly.

ICC  laid a charge against Chandimal on the Day three morning. But Lankans are of the opinion that they should have been charged on day two.

Officials have 18 hours to charge a player. However, the Islanders further argued umpires didn’t have any issues with the ball when play ended on day two.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka accused Ian Gould of getting carried away following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa early this year. They also questioned whether the five penalty runs were awarded on all the times when teams were alleged of tampering with the ball.

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