Shaminda Eranga's action found out to be legal by ICC

Sri Lankan pace bowler Shaminda Eranga’s bowling action has been cleared by the ICC after he was initially reported for illegal action after the Second Test against England at Chester-le-Street, 14 months back on 31st May 2016. The International Cricket Council recently confirmed that the bowling action of Eranga has been found legal and he can continue to play International cricket henceforth.

Eranga had to undergo a re-assessment of his bowling action at the ICC accredited testing centre in Chennai. From the assessment, it was inferred that the amount of elbow extension in his standard deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.

That said, the umpires still would have the authority to report Eranga in the future if they believe he is displaying a suspect action or that he is not reproducing the action that has been declared legal during this assessment. The umpires have been provided with images and video footage of the bowler’s legal bowling action, to assist their judgement of Shaminda Eranga’s action.

Eranga’s action may be questioned again in future

The fast bowler was initially reported after the second Test against England at Chester-le-Street on 31 May 2016 and was suspended following an independent assessment which found his bowling action to be illegal. Over the years, many bowlers have been questioned for suspect action including the great spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. Sunil Narine, Saeed Ajmal, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Hafeez, Pragyan Ojha, Marlon Samuels and many others have been previously reported for faulty actions.

“The assessment revealed that all deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations. Eranga’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations for domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction, save that, with the consent of Sri Lanka Cricket, Eranga may be able to play in domestic cricket events played in Sri Lanka under the auspices of Sri Lanka Cricket,” said the ICC statement back in 2016.