SL vs WI 2018: Suranga Lakmal likely to Replace Suspended Dinesh Chandimal for Pink-Ball Test

Sri Lanka speedster, Suranga Lakmal has emerged as the likely candidate to replace Dinesh Chandimal as Sri Lanka’s skipper for the 3^rd and the final Test at Barbados.

It is scheduled to be a day-night Test and will be played with a pink ball. In all likelihood, Chandimal will miss the Test after the Judicial Commissioner rejected his appeal on the ball-tampering fiasco in the 2^nd Test.

The 31-year old Laknal and veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herth emerged as the frontrunners to lead the side in his absence.

The judicial Commissioner found Chandimal guilty of trying to alter the condition of the match ball. Match referee Javagal Srinath also fined him 100% of his matches fees. However, as per reports, it is learnt that Herath has split his webbing during practice. Hence he is a doubtful starter for the Barbados Test.

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Herath wasn’t part of the drawn 2^nd Test which was marred by the ball-tampering fiasco.

Sri Lanka had gone for Akila Dananjaya in assistance with three other seamers. Chandimal is expected to face a lengthy ban. Despite appeals for a one-match ban for tampering, he has admitted to Level 3 offence which relates to ‘conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.’

If found guilty, Chandimal can miss the home Test series against the Proteas as well.

Sri Lanka refused to take the field on Day 3 of the previous Test

Meanwhile, head coach, Chandika Hathurusingh and Manager, Asanka Gurasinha have also accepted the offence. Sri Lanka refused to take the field for two hours beginning of the 3^rd day’s play in St Lucia. It was after on-field umpires, Ian Gould and Aleem Dar demanded a ball change and awarded five penalty runs to the Windies.

It will be a tough time for Sri Lanka, and they might face the consequences in the coming weeks. We are yet to recover from the Steven Smith-David Warner scandal during the Cape Town Test, and now another ball-tampering scandal has wrecked the whole cricketing world. The Sri Lankan team management had earlier denied the charges levied against them.

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