Faf du Plessis asks ICC if chewing gum is legal or illegal

The South African skipper seek ICC to lay out more clarity on the code of conducts for ball tampering offenders.

Pic courtesy: Reuters

South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis on Saturday sought clarity from International Cricket Council (ICC) on whether chewing of a gum is legal while playing a match. His concerns come after ICC on July 2 increase the punishment for ball tampering offenders. According to the new code of conduct, ICC will impose a ban of a minimum six Tests or 12 ODIs on players found guilty of tampering with the ball.

Faf du Plessis, who has twice been found guilty of ball tampering, had asked ICC to dish out tougher punishments for players found guilty of ball tampering. He focussed on bringing more clarity to the whole situation. "As Hashim Amla said, he likes putting sweets in his mouth when he spends a long time in the field, so there's nothing wrong with it," he said on while demanding a more clear account of the regulations laid out by ICC.

"I know they (ICC) met a while ago but it doesn't look like anything has changed. It's still the same rules and stuff, so they need to change that," Du Plessis, told reporters ahead of South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka.

"I have probably said it too much but there are too many grey areas when it comes to the ICC and the rules," the 33-year-old right-handed batsman added.

"One, you want clarity and, two, you want consistency and that's definitely something that's not been part of that body of laws for a while now."

Ball tampering incidents have rocked the sport this year, prompting the ICC to contemplate stricter punishments after admitting that fines were not enough to serve as a deterrent.

The ball tampering incident involving Steve Smith and David Warner has forced ICC to upgrade it as Level 3 offense 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.

(Wih inputs from Agency)