Even though Sri Lanka Sports Minister Faizer Mustapha announced on Saturday that Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) Will not carry any local investigation over the ball tampering incident during the third day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in St. Lucia, the Board Constitution says another Story.
Sri Lanka Test Captain Dinesh Chandimal was caught on camera appearing to alter the condition of the ball and was slapped with one match suspension. Chandimal now faces further reprimand for his role in holding up play for two hours, along with Manager Asanka Gurusinha and Coach Chandika Hathurusingha from the International Cricket Council (ICC). The hearing will take place on July 10.
The trio have been charged with a ‘level 3’ offence for conduct contrary to the spirit of the game and may face severe sanctions, owing to the seriousness of the offence.
A level 3 offence carries a minimum ban of two Test matches up to a maximum of four, or four ODIs up to a maximum of eight. This means, in all probability, Chandimal will not be available for the two-match Test series against South Africa starting July 12, two days after the scheduled hearing.
However Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha said that there will not be a local inquiry against the team think-tank.
“We are disturbed by the decision made by the team for two hours,” Musthapha told reporters in Colombo during a Press conference on Saturday.
“It was a mistake, which we certainly would not accept. We stand by Chandimal even now even though he has been found guilty. The team was emotional on the issue, that we must understand. But what is wrong is wrong, I do not accept what took place”.
“We regret the team not going onto the field for two hours. We should maintain discipline of the highest order. SLC is committed to spirit of cricket. We maintained that Chandimal was innocent, but the ICC has issued a sanction and we abide by it,”
SLC constitution, however, reflects something else on this issue. According to SLC constitution clause 27, If Board Executive Committee finds any player/Official guilty of behave in such a manner as to bring disrepute to the game, the committee has the power to refer the said complaint to the disciplinary Committee and the Anti-Corruption Tribunal of the board for the inquiry and Investigation.
Moreover, if found guilty in the inquiry, SLC Executive Committee has the power to slap a fine on the player or Team Official and to Suspend from the game for a certain period of time.
In this scenario, it seems Faizer Mustapha, The Sports Minister who has openly admitted that he doesn’t know anything about Cricket, has been again kept in dark by the SLC Top officials!
However, this is also a strange thing, because Faizer Mustapha is also the Country’s President’s Counselor.
