Dananjaya banned from bowling for one year

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months due to an illegal bowling action.

Dananjaya’s suspension is a result of the ICC’s automatic penalty for bowlers who have twice failed an assessment inside a two-year period.

Dananjaya was assessed after he was reported for a suspect action for the second time in 10 months, following the Galle Test against New Zealand last month. He subsequently underwent an independent assessment on August 29 in Chennai, which found his bowling action to be illegal.

“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,” an ICC release said.

“Dananjaya will be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the expiry of this one-year period.” Dananjaya was initially suspended from bowling in November 2018, before undergoing remedial work which allowed him to resume bowling earlier this year.

Since Dananjaya was not as effective in ODIs when he returned after the suspension, he missed out on a World Cup berth in the summer. The Galle Test in August was his first since his suspension last year and he took an impressive 5 for 80 in the first innings. He did not feature in the second Test against New Zealand but played the subsequent three T20Is, taking 2 for 28, 3 for 36 and 1 for 30 to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, behind Lasith Malinga’s tally of seven wickets.

The one-year suspension is a big blow for Sri Lanka as they are scheduled to play their next five Tests in Asia.