Sri Lanka's Mendis, Dickwella, Gunathilaka dropped from India series, likely to face 1-year bans
Dickwella, Mendis and Gunathilaka were seen breaching their bio-secure bubble ahead of the first ODI in Durham. Mendis and Dickwella were seen smoking in the streets of Durham, where they were based ahead of the ODI series.
Sri Lanka cricketers Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, and Danushka Gunathilaka were dropped from the limited-overs series against India starting next month and are likely to face a ban of 12 months for breaching the bio-bubble in England.
The trio, dropped from the ongoing ODI series against England, landed in Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon. They were immediately sent on a 14-day quarantine. On completion of the quarantine regulations, they will then have to face an inquiry into the incident that took place in Durham on Sunday, which has also ruled them out of the three T20Is and three ODIs against India at home.
"They are likely to get a minimum one-year suspension if found guilty of several breaches of their contract," one official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Also Read | 'Never been desperate for captaincy': Pakistan Test vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan
Dickwella, Mendis and Gunathilaka were seen breaching their bio-secure bubble ahead of the first ODI in Durham.
Mendis and Dickwella were seen smoking in the streets of Durham, where they were based ahead of the ODI series.
In a second video on social media, Gunathilaka is seen joining the pair, violating the coronavirus rules of their stay.
England won the first ODI on Tuesday by five wickets. The second ODI is due to be played Thursday with the final on Sunday.
After Sri Lanka's whitewash in the T20 series against England, their fifth consecutive series defeat, disgruntled fans launched a campaign to shun the team on social media.
The hashtag #unfollowcricketers began to trend on Facebook on Sunday as thousands of fans boycotted the social media pages of Mendis and Gunathilaka, reports said.
Fans were also sharing memes asking each other not to watch the national team on television.
(With AFP inputs)