Guilty will be punished, says Sangakkara

Dambulla: Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara on Wednesday took the full responsibility of Randiv's 'no-ball' incident and said the guilty will be punished.

"I have taken full responsibility for what had happened and the matter is with the (Sri Lanka Cricket) Board. Any player guilty in the incident will have to be punished," Sangakkara said at a press conference.

The skipper also said Sri Lankan Cricket board is looking into the matter and will take appropriate action.

The no-ball incident that has already drawn a lot of flak from everyone, both in India and Sri Lanka, had another twist on Wednesday when a local newspaper blamed opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan to instruct Suraj Randiv to bowl a no-ball in order to deny Virender Sehwag a century.

According to Sri Lankan newspaper The Island, Dilshan, who was fielding at cover point, instructed Randiv in Sinhalese - if you want, you can bowl a no ball. Incidentally, both Dilshan and Sehwag play for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Sangakkara did not say anything about who coaxed Randiv to bowl the no-ball but suggested his players should uphold the spirit of the game.

"That (playing in the spirit of the game) is a grey area and it is not in black and white. It is for all the teams in the world. All the teams have experienced something or the other. Presenting yourself well on and off the field and making efforts to play fair are I think part of our job," he said.

"As professionals, however, we try to forget what had happened at the beginning or the end of a match and try to go ahead. So, we have to get the better of the situation and try to win every match we play. That is what we are going to do now," he added.

Sehwag was just one short of his 13th ODI hundred when Randiv, who had not bowled a no-ball in the Test or ODI series this season, bowled one which was hit by the opener for a six.

However, it did not count because the no ball amounted to India's winning run, leaving Sehwag on an unbeaten 99.

The controversy has also brought a lot of embarassment for the Lankan cricket board. Meanwhile, a six-member committee of Sri Lanka Cricket will meet this afternoon to take action on the recommendations of team manager who probed the 'no-ball' incident.

"A six-member interim committee has been set up by the SLC to consider the recommendations in the report submitted by team manager last night," a top source said on Wednesday.

The source said the meeting will focus on the video footages of the last three balls of India's run chase in the tri-series match which the visiting side won by six wickets.

Sri Lanka Cricket interim chairman DS de Silva will head the committee while his secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and treasurer Sujeewa Rajapakse and three other SLC officials are the other members.