Sri Lankan cricket fans have been hit with some disappointing news as all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has been suspended for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh, which was announced by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday.
The suspension of Hasaranga comes after he announced his return to Test cricket after retiring from Test cricket last year. However, the fine cricketer was called out for breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the third One Day International of the recent series against Bangladesh, in which he played.
The formal charge was for “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match”
As a result of what happened in the 37th over of the one-dayer, in which Hasaranga threw away his cap received a 50 percent match-fee fine and was awarded three demerit points.
The demerit points take his tally to a total of eight within a 24-month period. In this past month alone, he was previously given another set of demerit points during the third T20I against Afghanistan, leaving him suspended from two T20Is against Bangladesh. With the addition of the most recent demerit points, he has now accumulated eight in total. According to Article 7.6 of the Code, these are converted into four suspension points.
This means that he’ll be barred from playing two Tests or four ODIs or T20Is, whichever comes first. As a result of this, Hasaranga shall be unable to play the upcoming ICC World Test Championship Tests form Bangladesh; this is a significant blow to Sri Lanka’s team for the series.
