JOIN US Ishant Sharma’s memorable day ended on a bitter note when the pacer was handed a one-match ban for giving Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga a nasty send-off in the second innings of the third Test.
In a realse, the International Cricket Council said the Delhiite was found guilty of “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an international match”.
This was the third time that Ishant has been found guilty of giving the dismissed batsman a send-off during this series and was thus handed two suspension points, meaning a suspension from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is. With Ishant having not played ODIs and T20s for a while now, this suspension could mean he will have to sit out the first Test match against South Africa, to be played in Mohali from November 5.
Apart from Ishant, Dinesh Chandimal too was slapped with one-match suspension for brushing the Delhi pacer in an earlier altercations while Dhammika Prasad and Lahiru Thirimanne were fined 50 per cent of their match fee for creating the fracas. The incident happened in the 76th over when Chandimal made deliberate physical contact with Ishant when he was in the middle of a heated exchange with fast bowler Prasad.
Just before the contact between Chandimal and Ishant, Thirimanne had twice ignored the umpires’ warnings not to get involved in the incident.
Chandimal will thus miss Sri Lanka’s next ODI, which will be against the West Indies on November 1 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Match referee Andy Pycroft said Monday’s incidents were not good for the game. “These experienced cricketers forgot their fundamental responsibilities of respecting their opponents as well as the umpires, and got involved in incidents which were clearly against the spirit of the game. Their actions cannot be condoned and must be discouraged. As regards to Sharma, he had been put on notice after being charged twice for send-offs in the previous Test. Any repeat of this action within the next 12 months will potentially see him suspended for a much longer period.”