Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya gets one-year bowling ban: ICC

Sri Lankan bowler Akila Dananjaya was slapped with a year-long ban from bowling in the international matches after his bowling action was found to be illegal, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday (September 19).

The 25-year-old off-spinner while playing the first Test match against New Zealand in Galle in August was questioned by the umpires on his bowling style and later subjected to an independent assessment for the same, said the ICC.

It recalled that he had been suspended in December after being reported by umpires during the first Test against England in November 2018, but was permitted to resume bowling in February following “remedial work on his action.”

However, he was found to have an illegal action following another assessment after being reported again last month, the ICC said.

“As the latest report constitutes the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a suspension, he is automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a period of 12 months,” the ICC said in a statement.

It said he will be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the expiry of this one-year period.

Dananjaya had opted out of the six-match limited-overs tournament starting September 27 in Pakistan.