The land of mystery spinners, Sri Lanka have also had its fair share of scuffles with the law for illegal bowling actions. The ICC laws are strict for bowlers who flex their arm more than the permissible 15-degree limit.
As per the law, the bowler is suspended when reported the first time but has a chance to redeem himself with a remodelled action and subsequent tests. The second time, however, the bowler will be banned from bowling for 12 months.
Here we have compiled a list of Sri Lankan spinners to have been suspended over the years:
AKILA DANANJAYA
A second-time defaulter, Sri Lanka’s strike spinner, Akila Dananjaya, was suspended for one year following a failed assessment of his bowling action.
The leg-spinner was reported late last year and was suspended before undergoing remedial work. He returned with a bang only to be suspended again during the Tests against New Zealand. In the assessment test, it was found that Dananjaya’s arms were flexing more than the permissible limit. He can only approach the ICC now after serving the one-year ban period for a reassessment.
THARINDU KAUSHAL
Another of those queer mystery spinners with extraordinary talent, Kaushal came under a lot of scrutiny for his action. He was called for his illegal action in the Test series against India in 2015 and had to undergo tests.
He bowled a series of off-breaks and doosras and it was found that while his off break was within the permissible limit, the doosra exceeded it. He was banned from bowling the doosra, a primary weapon in his arsenal. He returned to the national team and played one more Test before fading away.
SACHITHRA SENANAYAKE
The off-spinner was a fantastic find for Sri Lanka and at one time seemed like the successor to Muttiah Muralitharan. During an excellent tour of England in 2014, Senanayake was pulled up for an illegal action and was subsequently banned from bowling by ICC after a biomechanical assessment in Cardiff.
He was assessed for four different types of deliveries and it was found that he was exceeding the limit when bowling each of them. The spinner travelled to Perth to remodel his action and returned with a completely new one, a more side-on action. He returned to international cricket but had a lesser successful stint.
MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN
Arguably the greatest spinner of all-time, Muttiah Muralitharan was a pioneer of mystery spin bowling in the country. He has, however, had a series of issues with his bowling action with Darrell Hair famously calling him for “chucking” during the Boxing day Test against Australia at Melbourne in 1995.
When Sri Lanka toured Australia in 1998 again, Muralitharan was once again called for throwing. He went through a series of tests to clear his action but a few years later, his doosra was called up by match referee Chris Board. Muralitharan bowled his pretty well disguised doosra at an angle of 14 degrees. This was remodelled to 10 degrees but criticism kept coming his way through a respectable career.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Sena Vidanagama
