ICC hands twelve-month suspension to Akila Dananjaya for illegal bowling action

Sri Lankan off-break bowler Akila Dananjaya has been barred from bowling in international matches for a period of 12 months by the International Cricket Council, citing the reason as illegal bowling action. 

The umpires had reported him in a Test against New Zealand at Galle in August, following which an independent evaluation of his bowling form was conducted in Chennai on the 29th of August. The results have shown that he does not employ a legal bowling action and hence will have to make do without bowling for some time as compensation.

The 25-year-old was also reported back in December last year when he was playing red-ball cricket against England at the same venue. However, he was allowed to return three months later and was subsequently picked for the five match ODI series in South Africa that took place in March.

Having made his international debut in 2012, Dananjaya became a regular in the squad much later on in his career. He has accumulated a combined 64 caps for the Lions in which he has managed to pick 106 wickets at an average of 27.78 across all the three formats of the game. The bowler has the right to ask for a review of his action but only after the completion of the period of suspension.