The independent Judicial Commissioner, The Hon Michael Beloff QC, handed Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha eight suspension points, which means the trio has also been suspended for the first four ODIs along with both the Tests against South Africa, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.
The three were charged by the ICC Chief Executive David Richardson on 19 June and had pleaded guilty to breaching Level 3, Article 2.3.1, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”, during last month’s St Lucia Test against the West Indies.
The Chairman of the ICC code of conduct commission had held a hearing over video conference on Wednesday, 11 July, to determine the sanction, and, after more than six hours of hearing, which was attended by legal counsels of both the sides, had reserved his decision.
During the hearing, however, it was mutually agreed that, since the minimum sanction for a Level 3 offence was suspension from two Tests, the three will not participate in the Galle Test (played from 12-14 July) and Colombo Test (to be played from 20-24 July), and these will be credited against the sanction imposed by the Judicial Commissioner.
As eight suspension points equate to a ban from two Tests and four ODIs/T20Is or eight ODIs/T20Is, whatever comes first for the player or player support personnel, the Judicial Commissioner’s ruling means the three will also remain suspended for the Dambulla ODIs (29 July and 1 August) as well as the Kandy ODIs (5 and 8 August).
Furthermore, six demerit points each have been added to the disciplinary records of Chandimal, Hathurusinghe, and Gurusinha.
While these are first offences for Hathurusinghe and Gurusinha, this is the second time Chandimal has been sanctioned since the introduction of the revised code in September 2016. Chandimal received four demerit points for breaching Article 2.2.9 in the same Test, and, therefore, he now has 10 demerit points against his name.