ICC suspends Wanindu Hasaranga for two matches for outburst against umpire

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Sri Lanka T20I captain Wanindu Hasaranga for two matches for his outburst against on-field umpire Lyndon Hannibal during the third T20I against Afghanistan in Dambulla on February 21. Hasaranga is also fined 50% of his match fees and will miss the first two T20I games against Bangladesh next month.

The incident happened when Hannibal did not give an above-the-waist-height full toss a no-ball, irking the Sri Lankan camp, with Hasaranga letting his frustration out during the presser, saying such calls should have been avoided in international cricket.

Hasaranga went one step ahead by bashing the umpire for not being rightly suited for top-level cricket, urging him to find another job.

"That kind of thing shouldn't happen in an international match," Hasaranga said. "If it had been close [to waist height], that's not a problem. But a ball that's going so high… it would have hit the batsman's head if it had gone a little higher. If you can't see that, that umpire isn't suited to international cricket. It would be much better if he did another job."

Meanwhile, the hosts required 11 off the last three balls when this episode happened and eventually lost the game by three runs. They won the series 2-1.

ALSO READ:Australia crush hosts New Zealand in rain-hit 3rd T20I, win series 3-0

Taking action against Hasaranga, the ICC, in its statement, stated that the all-rounder breached the code of conduct and accumulated five demerit points (three from this incident), resulting in his suspension clause getting activated.

"Hasaranga was found guilty of breaching article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to 'Personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an International Match'," the ICC said in a statement.

"Hasaranga's accumulation of five demerit points (he got three for this infraction) results in a conversion to two suspension points. This means he will either get a ban for one Test match or two ODIs or T20Is, whichever comes first, for the player or player support personnel."

Gurbaz fined

Not only Hasaranga but Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz was also fined 15% of his match fees and slapped with a demerit point for disobeying an umpire's instruction during an international match."

Per ICC’s statement, Gurbaz's offence was "altering the grip of his bat on the field despite repeated warnings against doing so.”

Gurbaz's demerit-points tally now stands at two.