Captains of the Sri Lankan and South African sides have expressed the desire to seek greater clarity on the rules regarding the laws of ball-tampering. Having gone through the issue themselves, Dinesh Chandimal and Faf du Plessis have come out and stated that they need more information of the dos and don'ts on the matter by the ICC. 

The duo specifically wants to know whether players are allowed to eat candy during matches following penalties for ball tampering involving saliva and other substances. Both Faf and Chandimal have been sanctioned for altering the condition of the ball in the past, with the footage evidence showing gum or candy in their mouth and so, doesn't want to take any risk in the future. 

Ahead of the start of the series in Sri Lanka, Du Plessis talked to reporters about the matter and said, “They still haven’t said what is allowed and what isn’t. Is chewing gum allowed or is it not? You want consistency,” 

To which Chandimal added, “We will meet with umpires and the (ICC) match referee and ask what we can carry with us to the field. What sweets we can put in our mouths and when.”

The International Cricket Council earlier this week announced tougher sanctions for ball tampering and sledging in a bid to improve on-field behaviour in the sport. The changes come in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March that saw Steve Smith stripped of the Australian captaincy and suspended from international and domestic cricket for a year. His teammates David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were also banned.

Sterner laws and stricter punishments, ICC hopes, will make a telling impact on the players adhering to how the game is supposed to be played. 

(Inputs from Hindustan Times)