ICC declare ball tampering as Level 3 offence; punishment increased to minimum ban of six Tests or 12 ODIs

Dublin: The ICC will impose a ban of minimum six Tests or 12 ODIs on ball tampering offenders as it has now been upgraded as a Level 3 offence as per it’s new code of conduct. The decision was taken at its Annual Conference in Dublin which concluded on Monday. Another significant development is the sanction on number of private T20 leagues that a player might be allowed to participate so that there is no compromise when it comes to national duty. [caption id=“attachment_4425473” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] However, the most significant development certainly was tougher sanctions for poor player behaviour. The ball tampering incident involving Steve Smith and David Warner has forced ICC to upgrade it as Level 3 offence which will carry 12 suspension points. The 12 suspension points is equivalent to a ban of 6 Tests or 12 ODIs from the earlier 1 Test and 2 ODIs. The new offence added as Level 1 is the audible obscenity if anything is heard on the stump microphone. Meanwhile, ICC wants to reign in on T20 freelancers who are trading national duty in order to play domestic leagues. While ICC didn’t clarify how many leagues a player can take part, it is understood to be not more than 3.