Akila Dananjaya banned from bowling for 12 months

In a major blow for Sri Lankan cricket, spinner Akila Dananjaya has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months. He has been handed a ban after his bowling action was found to be illegal by the ICC. Dananjaya was recently reported by the umpires for a suspect bowling action during Sri Lanka’s first Test match against New Zealand at Galle. He subsequently sat out of the second Test in Colombo, which the home side ended up losing.

Dananjaya recently flew to Chennai for a biomechanical assessment of his action. At the Sri Ramachandra Institute, he was under the supervision of Dr. Aditya and Mr. Gnanavel. During the testing, his bowling action during his standard delivery was found to be inconsistent. The action ranged between 4 and 17 degrees. This exceeded the permissible limit of 15 degrees as proposed by the ICC. The data was then forwarded to Dr. Andrea Cutti who is the senior human movement specialist of the International Cricket Council.

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar explains Steve Smith phenomenon

Second suspension in two years

This will be the 25-year old’s second suspension within a period of 2 years. He was previously suspended from bowling in international cricket in December 2018. His action was first reported during a Test match against England. He was allowed to bowl in domestic cricket though, with his action being closely monitored.

Dananjaya then worked on his bowling, with his remodelled action being cleared by the ICC in February this year. The new action though has again landed him in trouble with the off-spinner set to serve a ban for a lengthy period. He will now have to again work on his action to get clearance from the ICC, which will surely be a long and arduous process.

Dananjaya will be eligible to return to bowling in international cricket on 29th August 2020. As one of the few genuine wicket-taking options in their ranks, the suspension on Dananjaya will surely be a massive headache for the Sri Lankan team.