Ahead of the first Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa which gets underway at Galle on July 12, the two skippers have sought clarity from the ICC on rules pertaining to eating candy in the wake of recent sanctions for ball-tampering.
Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Chandimal have said that they will meet with the ICC match referee ahead of the Test to determine what is acceptable.
Sri Lanka skipper Chandimal was recently fined 100 per cent of his matches fees and banned for the third Test against the West Indies after being found guilty of tampering with the ball.
The Sri Lanka captain was adjudged to have used saliva containing the residue of some other substance during the match. Currently, ICC rules permit the use of saliva and sweat to shine the red ball but using any other substance such as a sugary residue from sweets is prohibited.
Chandimal was recently found guilty of tampering with the ball.
“They still haven’t said what is allowed and what isn’t. Is chewing gum allowed or not? You want consistency,” du Plessis told reporters in Colombo.
“We will meet with the umpires and the match referee and ask what we can carry with us to the field. What sweets we can put in our mouths and when,” Chandimal said on his part.
Earlier this week, the ICC had unveiled tougher sanctions for ball-tampering with the offence being upgraded to Level 3 from the previous Level 2. The offence carries a maximum of 12 demerit points which could see guilty players being banned for up to six Tests matches or 12 ODIs for the offence.
The new sanctions were added in the light of the ball-tampering episode which occurred during Australia’s tour of South Africa.
