In a major development, Sri Lanka National Cricket Team’s star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has received a suspension from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and will miss the entire Test series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.
Hasaranga had retired from Test cricket at the age of 26 on 15 August 2023. He took the decision to make himself more available for franchise cricket tournaments around the world.
The star all-rounder featured in 4 Test matches for the country and was very ineffective with the ball, picking up only 4 wickets. With the bat he scored 196 runs at an average of 28.00. When he announced his retirement from Tests, he was not a regular member of the team.
On Monday, March 18, the SLC announced their squad for the Bangladesh Tests and Wanindu Hasaranga ended his retirement and returned to the team. With his recent return, he was expected to appear regularly in Test cricket for the Sri Lanka national cricket team.
However, he has now been banned and will miss the series. He was found guilty of violating the Code of Conduct. The star all-rounder breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “disagreeing with a referee’s decision during an international match”.
In the 37th over of the third ODI match against Bangladesh, he snatched the cap of one of the umpires and ridiculed the match referee. Wanindu Hasaranga has also been fined 50% of the match fees and 3 demerit points have been added to his record. In the last 24-month period, Wanindu Hasaranga accumulated eight demerit points, earning him four suspension points, meaning a ban for two Tests or four ODIs or T20Is, whichever comes first.
Did Wanindu Hasaranga fool the ICC with his cunning plan?
Many believe that this was a master plan by Sri Lanka’s star cricketer to be excluded from the Bangladesh Tests. Notably, he would have missed the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup matches if he was not part of Sri Lanka’s squad for the Bangladesh Tests.
According to the FTP of the Sri Lanka national cricket team, after the Bangladesh Tests, they would have directly faced the South Africa national cricket team in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on June 3 in New York.
For the Lankan Lions to play without their captain for all four T20I matches in the World Cup would have been a huge blow to their chances in the tournament. Therefore, there is a possibility that Wanindu Hasaranga along with Sri Lanka planned their return to Test cricket only to be fully available for the World Cup.
In other news, Sri Lanka ODI captain Kusal Mendis has also been fined 50% of his match fee and three demerit points have been added to his record.
He violated article 2.13 of the Code, which relates to “Personal abuse of a player, player support staff, referee or match referee during an international match.” Notably, Kusal Mendis has been fined for a Level 2 offense after “abusing the umpires while shaking their hands” following the third ODI against Bangladesh, which his team lost and ultimately lost the series.
Meanwhile, Lankan Lions won 2-1 in the T20I series against Bangladesh, while Bangla Tigers won the ODI series 2-1. The first Test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be played from Friday, March 22 in Sylhet. The second and final Test match of the series is scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 30, in Chattogram.