Sri Lanka is left with 10 days to learn and decide whether it is time to shed customary public emotions and pride itself in professionalism like the rest or risk being branded as a nation of cry babies as the International Cricket Council (ICC) waits to pass final judgment on captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha over the ignominious ball tampering saga.
The Sri Lankan team returned last morning after drawing the three-Test series 1-1 against the West Indies and neither Gurusinha nor Chandimal could hide the fact that the team and their guardian Sri Lanka Cricket had made a mess of the incident that happened just a few months after Australia banned three of its players including skipper Steven Smith for a similar offence.
“We knew the rules and requirements and accepted the charges. It was just that we were emotionally involved and that’s why play was held up for two hours. We have to see what we can do, to get it (possible ban) reduced”, said Gurusinha just minutes after he and team arrived home.
Gurusinha and Hathurusinghe, one time team-mates, stand accused by the ICC of violating the spirit of the game by standing in the way of the Sri Lankan players taking the field in the drawn second Test at St. Lucia.
It was not the first time that emotions got the better of the Sri Lankan team which the experts put down to a lack of responsibility and professionalism and Gurusinha attributed the two-hour hold up to “discussions’ that took place between Sri Lanka Cricket officials and the match referee.
The ICC has set July 10 as the day on which it will rule on whether the Sri Lankan trio can feature in the two-Test home series against South Africa starting in the second week of the month.
But unlike Australia, Sri Lanka will not be imposing any punishments and merely abide by what the ICC decides.
Sports Minister Faiser Mushtapha who admits that he does not know a ball about cricket was at hand to defend Chandimal saying Sri Lanka will have only a future to look forward to while stopping short of implying that further action was needed to reassure the international fraternity of the country’s credentials.
“We know that discipline has to be maintained at the highest level. We (Sri Lanka Cricket) defended Chandimal on the premise (conclusion) that he was innocent and now we have to respect the ruling of the ICC and move forward”, said Minister Mushtapha.
Chandimal was fined and banned for the third and final Test against the West Indies by the ICC for changing the condition of the ball during the second Test. He faces a further ban of two more Test matches along with Gurusinha and Hathurusinghe as the three men stand accused of “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game” by failing to take the field on time during the second Test.
“I did not have any purpose to tamper with the ball and that’s why I made an appeal to plead my innocence. But I respect the ICC ruling”, said Chandimal.