Ravichandran Ashwin was accused of ball tampering in the match against Madurai Panthers on June 14.
Hours after Ravichandran Ashwin and the Dindigul Dragons were accused of ball tampering, all speculations have been put to rest. The Indian off-spinner and his team have been cleared of ball tampering allegations in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). This comes after the Siechem Madurai Panthers accused Ashwin and the team of tampering with the ball through towels used during the game.
The Panthers are also known to have violated procedure by registering their complaint 24 hours after the fixture had ended on June 14. Also, they did not lodge the complaint via the TNPL honorary secretary as mentioned in the mandate, which made the complaint inadmissible. However, in the light of transparency and fairness, the TNPL forwarded it to the authorities, after which it was reviewed.
When asked about the reason behind complaining, the Panthers’ coach, Shijit Chandran, expressed that the condition of the ball deteriorated quite swiftly when they were batting. He also stated that this affected their batters’ performance. In other words, he pointed towards the fact that the ball wasn’t travelling as much as it should have, especially after the powerplay.
“The ball’s condition deteriorated rapidly during our innings, affecting our batsmen’s performance. You can hear the sound of every shot our batters played after the powerplay, which was as if they were hitting a hard stone instead of a cricket ball. We are of the view that the Dindigul Dragons team used foreign substances to alter the ball’s condition, including using special towels with pre-applied roughening agent, which is unacceptable and against the spirit of the game, and amounts to cheating,” Chandran had mentioned.
After a detailed review of the matter, TNPL CEO Prasanna Kannan said that there was no evidence of ball-tampering found. He also stated that no concerns were raised during the play, and no verifiable evidence has been provided. And hence, the allegations seem speculative and post facto in nature.
“The towels in question were TNCA-issued and equally available to both teams. The Playing Control Team – including umpires and the match referee – maintained full oversight of the ball throughout the match. No concerns were raised during play, and no verifiable evidence has been provided. The claims appear speculative and post-facto in nature”, said TNPL CEO Prasanna Kannan
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The Dragons easily found their way against the Panthers in Salem on June 14. They chased a target of 151 in just 12.3 overs to register a mammoth nine-wicket victory over the Panthers. Ashwin and Co. have won two of their three games and sit fifth on the points table.
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