ICC upgrades ball-tampering as Level 3 offence

The ICC would impose a ban of minimum six Tests or 12 One-day Internationals 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 Tuesday.

Another significant development was the sanction on number of private T20 leagues that a player might be allowed to participate so that there would be no compromise when it comes to national duty. However, the most significant development certainly was tougher sanctions for poor player behavior.

The ball-tampering incident involving Steve Smith and David Warner has forced ICC to upgrade it as Level 3 offence which would carry 12 suspension points. The 12 suspension points would be 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 was the audible obscenity if anything would be heard on the stump microphone. Meanwhile, ICC has been determined to reign in on T20 freelancers who have been trading national duty in order to play domestic leagues. While ICC didn’t clarify how many leagues a player can take part, it was understood to be not more than three.