Sri Lankan strike spinner Sachithra Senanayake has been banned from the international cricket after been found to be over the legal limit in bending the elbow during his bowling action. Decision was taken after he has been verified in the International Cricket Council (ICC) accredited laboratory in Cardiff, UK, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board said today.

Senanayake was reported for a suspicious action during Sri Lanka’s fourth ODI against England at The Home of Cricket, Lord’s on May 31 this year, and on testing he was found that he had exceeded the allowed 15-degree flex limit in all four types of his deliveries which were analyzed.

Sri Lanka Cricket said it had received the Assessment Report of Sachithra Senanayake from ICC Bowling Action Legality.

Sri Lankan Cricket Board confirmed this in a press release:

“Sri Lanka Cricket has received the ICC Bowling Action Legality Assessment Report pertaining to Sachithra Senanayake. It was conducted by the Cardiff Metropolitan University – Cardiff School of Sport in England.“

“The Standard ICC Illegal Action Testing Protocol was used to assess the degree of elbow extension from the point of upper arm horizontal to ball release within the bowling action.“

“15-degree elbow extension rule was exceeded in the four deliveries considered to be suspect in the 4th ODI played at Lords.“

“The report concludes that Senanayake bowled with an illegal bowling action and consequently he is banned from bowling in International cricket, with immediate effect.“

“This matter will be referred to the SLC Cricket Committee for their recommendation.“

However, the ICC has a procedure to be followed for situations such as this, SLC had no option but to blindly follow the procedure of actions to be done for the upliftment of the ban. And it can be expected that the Sri Lankan board will appeal the ban in the coming days.

Senanayake banned from bowling due to illegal action

Sampath Bandarupalli

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