Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and manager Asanka Gurusinha have been banned for two Tests and four ODIs for violating the spirit of the game.

They trio already sat out the first Test against South Africa and will now miss the second Test as well as the first four ODIs of the upcoming five-match series.

Chandimal had also missed the third and final Test against West Indies as he received a one-Test suspension for tampering with the ball.

After being penalized for the ball-tampering incident, Sri Lanka had refused to take field and delayed the start of the third day’s play for two hours during the second Test against West Indies last month. As a result, the three were charged by ICC chief executive Dave Richardson for “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”, a Level 3 offence. The trio later admitted to breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct.

“The Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission had held a hearing over video conference on Wednesday, 11 July, to determine the sanction, and, after more than six hours of hearing, which was attended by legal counsels of both the sides, had reserved his decision,” the ICC said in a release.

“As eight suspension points equate to a ban from two Tests and four ODIs/T20Is or eight ODIs/T20Is, whatever comes first for the player or player support personnel, the Judicial Commissioner's ruling means the three will also remain suspended for the Dambulla ODIs (July 29 and August 1) as well as the Kandy ODIs (August 5 and 8).

“Furthermore, six demerit points each have been added to the disciplinary records of Chandimal, Hathurusinghe and Gurusinha.

“While these are first offences for Hathurusinghe and Gurusinha, this is the second time Chandimal has been sanctioned since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016. Chandimal received four demerit points for breaching Article 2.2.9 in the same Test, and, therefore, he now has 10 demerit points against his name.”