Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya cleared to bowl in international cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday informed that Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya can start bowling in international cricket again after remedial work on his bowling action and re-assessment of the same.

Akila Dananjaya was banned from bowling for one year in September 2019 after he was reported during a Test match against New Zealand in Galle. His suspension ended in August 2020.

Releasing a statement on Akila Dananjaya, the ICC said:

"Following remedial work and re-assessment, the bowling action of Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya has been found to be legal, and he can resume bowling in international cricket.”

Although Dananjaya’s suspension ended in August 2020, he still needed to prove to the ICC that his remodeled action complied with the maximum limit of 15 degrees of elbow flexion.

Since travelling to ICC-accredited biomechanics lab wasn’t allowed owing to COVID-19 restrictions, Akila Dananjaya was cleared by a panel that went through video footage of the spinner’s remodeled action provided by Sri Lanka Cricket. The ICC release further informed:

"An Expert Panel studied video footage of Dananjaya's bowling action provided by Sri Lanka Cricket, as attendance and assessment at an ICC accredited centre was not possible due to various restrictions resulting from Covid-19."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that following remedial work and re-assessment, the bowling action of Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya has been found to be legal, and he can resume bowling in international cricket.https://t.co/RlNVVe4dqe

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) January 8, 2021

The panel, after studying the provided footage carefully, came to the conclusion that the elbow extension in his new bowling action was "within the 15-degree level of tolerance" allowed as per the ICC regulations.

The ICC statement further informed:

"To assist the match officials, they will be provided with the report, images and video footage of the bowler's remodeled legal bowling action."

Akila Dananjaya’s international stats

27-year-old Akila Dananjaya made his international debut in a T20I against New Zealand back in September 2012. His ODI debut followed a couple of months later against the same opponent, but he had to wait until February 2018 before he made his Test debut, against Bangladesh at Dhaka.

Prior to his suspension, Akila Dananjaya featured in six Tests, 36 ODIs and 22 T20Is, claiming 33, 51 and 22 wickets respectively. The slow bowler, who has an ODI fifty to his name, last featured for Sri Lanka in a T20I against New Zealand in September 2019.

He finished with impressive figures of 2 for 28 in Lanka’s 37-run triumph. This was the same match in which Lasith Malinga picked up four wickets in four balls.