Three Sri Lankan Cricketers Ban For One Year: On Friday (July 30) Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board has banned three of their key players for a year. The three players were seen roaming the streets of England, breaking the Covid-19 safety guidelines. This is why they went viral on Social Media.
Had it not been for the video footage taken by the public, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board might not have known that the three players had left the hotel at night in violation of the Covid-19 guidelines.
However, Sri Lanka Cricket Board, on Friday (July 30), banned opener Danushka Gunathilaka, vice-captain Kusal Mendis and wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella from all forms of international cricket for one year. The three cricketers have also been banned from domestic cricket for six months and fined approx $ 50,000 each.
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This strict decision has come after the players were found breaking the Covid-19 rules and leaving the bio-bubble during the limited-overs tour of England last month.
Sri Lanka Cricket have banned Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella from international cricket for one year.
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 30, 2021
The trio had breached Covid-19 protocol in England last month. pic.twitter.com/3V0x71kvW6
Three Sri Lankan Cricketers Ban For One Year:
As per the recommendation of the SLC’s executive committee, after the one-year ban expires, the trio will have to undergo another one-year ban from international cricket and all three of them will have to undergo compulsory counselling, according to the board’s recommended doctors.
A five-member independent disciplinary panel on Thursday convicted the three of violating health rules and leaving their hotel in Durham.
Earlier, based on the manager’s report, the trio was suspended from all forms of cricket by the executive committee and asked to return home from the UK for bio-bubble breaches in Durham during the one-day international against England.
This will definitely be a huge loss for the team. Because Dickwella is the No. 1 wicket-keeper in the Sri Lankan Test team and also the leading wicketkeeper in the limited-overs team. Gunathilaka was one of Sri Lanka’s white-ball openers, and Kusal Mendis was looking for a way back to the national team after a disappointing form.
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Incidentally, Gunathilaka was suspended for making mistakes several times in the past. He was suspended for six matches in 2017 due to abuse and in 2018 he was suspended for an incident involving alleged sexual harassment.
Mendis, meanwhile, was released on bail in 2020 after a pedestrian was killed while driving. However, wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella has no such bad record in the past.
