2024-03-22 00:17:41
Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga returned to Test against Bangladesh after retirement. He was included in the Sri Lankan squad for the two Tests. But Hasaranga will not be able to play in these two Tests due to the ban. So far so good. But there are different reports in the media about his sudden return to Tests and the ban. There are reports that Hasaranga’s desire to return to Test cricket after retirement has something to do with avoiding the ban.
In the last match of the series against Bangladesh, 3 demerit points were added to Hasaranga’s name along with a fine of 50 percent of the match fee due to misconduct with the umpire. Moreover, before coming to Bangladesh, he was banned for 2 matches for criticizing the umpire in the Afghanistan series. Hasaranga was banned for two Tests or four ODIs or four T20Is for getting 8 demerit points in 2 years.
The ICC rule is that the punishment will be effective in the next match. As a result, Hasaranga’s punishment will be removed by returning to the Test against Bangladesh. Many are calling his return and punishment a smart move. Because after the Test series against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka does not have any international matches until the T20 World Cup. If he did not return in this series, he would not have played in the World Cup match.
However, Sri Lanka Cricket rejected this claim. In the meantime, they have clarified their position in the press statement. Hasaranga applied to return to the Test before the third one-dayer in Bangladesh. Although Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva did not want to open his mouth about it, ‘It is not under my control. The manager will answer.’
Mahinda Halangola, media manager of the party in Sylhet on Thursday said, ‘I think the information is wrong. Hasaranga took this decision on his own. He gave us a letter saying that he has changed his mind and wants to play Test cricket. The letter was sent to the cricket board and selectors. And it was on that appeal that he was picked up in the Test team.’