5 Sri Lankan bowlers who were called for chucking

Sri Lanka, known for its variety in the bowling department, has produced several world-class bowlers over the years.There have been many who have had unmatched skills and helped in taking country's legacy to a new level. The nation also has a history of producing bowlers with unique actions, from Muralitharan to Malinga.

Another thing that the country has witnessed is its bowlers getting accused of chucking.No other team has seen more bowlers than Sri Lanka to be called for rotating the arm more than 15 degrees as per the ICC guidelines.

Here's a look at some of the bowlers who were called for chucking.

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#1 Tharindu Kaushal

The off-spinner has a similar bowling style to that of the Sri Lankan maestro - Muttiah Muralitharan. Contrary to the conventional off-break finger spin, he uses his wrists just like Murali used to do.

Kaushal had a decent start to his Test career as he took 2 five-wicket hauls pretty early, one against Pakistan and the other against India. The second one came at Galle where Sri Lanka defeated India in the first Test of the series, the last time India toured the neighbours.

After the India series, he was reported for having an illegal action in 2015. The subsequent tests in Chennai showed that all his deliveries were legal except the doosra which extended the permissible limit of 15 degrees.

As a result, he was banned from bowling the doosra but he could he continue bowling the other variants of his armoury.

#2 Sachitra Senanayake

Sachitra Senanayake

The off-spinner was touted as the next big thing in Sri Lankan cricket and was a regular in the ODI and T20I sides. He was known for his miserly bowling and the variations made it tough for the batsmen to score runs off him that was evident in his ODI economy rate of 4.76.

He was reported for having an illegal action in 2014 on Sri Lanka's A tour to England but later got clearance by the ICC's biomechanical testing. But later that year, when Sri Lanka toured England for an ODI series, he was reported by the umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould in a match at Lord's.

Senanayake had to go through the tests once more but this time, he didn't get a nod from ICC and was subsequently banned from bowling in international cricket. The right-hander came back to the scheme of things with a remodelled action in 2015 but didn't prove to be as effective that has kept him out of the Lankan side for quite a while.

#3 Kumar Dharmasena

Kumar Dharmasena

The former off-spinner of the Island nation who featured in 31 Tests and 141 ODIs, also had his fair share of troubles with his bowling action. In 1998, he was investigated by the ICC for stretching his bowling action beyond legal proportions. But 2 years later, he was cleared to bowl and appeared for Sri Lanka in both the formats regularly.

Post his retirement, he turned to umpiring and became a hugely successful one at that. Dharmasena began his umpiring career in 2009 and was inducted into the ICC Elite Panel of umpires in 2011. He was awarded the Umpire of the Year in 2012 for which he received the David Shepherd Trophy.

#4 Shaminda Eranga

Shaminda Eranga

The Sri Lankan fast bowler made a promising start to his career when he became the only bowler in the history to pick up wickets in his first over in all 3 formats of the game. He could swing the ball at pace that made him a useful pick for the side across formats.

But on Sri Lanka's tour to England in 2016, he was reported for having an illegal action after the second Test at Chester-le-Street and was suspended from bowling in international cricket following an independent assessment which found his bowling action to be illegal.

But lately, his action has been cleared by the ICC after his remodelled action was tested again in Chennai where his standard deliveries were found to be within the 15-degree level of tolerance.

#5 Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan

The leading wicket-taker in the history of the game was undoubtedly the most troubled bowler when it came to allegations of chucking. His action was as such that it sparked controversies on several occasions. Due to an unusual extension of the congenitally bent arm, his action came into questions multiple times.

In 1995, umpire Darrell Hair called him for throwing in the Boxing day Test at Melbourne and no-balled the off-spinner 7 times. The Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga took the side off the field as there was an outrage in the camp. Later, ICC cleared Murali's action in 1996 and then again in 1999 saying that the action created 'the optical illusion of throwing'.

In 2004, his doosra came into question and it was found that it breached the then permissible limit of 5 degrees by 9 degrees. It was found that 99% of the bowlers who were examined were exceeding the permissible limit and subsequently, the ICC extended the limit to 15 degrees. There were several allegations on the governing body that the change was implemented only to accommodate Murali.