Sri Lanka Cricket appoints 5-member committee to probe bio-bubble breach incident

07/08/2021

On Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket announced that they have appointed a five-member committee to probe the players accused of breaching bio-bubble in Durham last month. The board also confirmed that a temporary ban has been placed on the trio until investigation against them is completed.

On June 28, the Sri Lankan Cricket board had suspended the trio of Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka after they were spotted in a public square in Durham, outside the bio-bubble. While they were sent back to Sri Lanka quite immediately, the decision on their future was impending, with the board announcing that it would appoint a committee at a later date.

SLC on Thursday appointed a five-member committee to probe the players for the bio-bubble breach incident, for violating the rules of COVID-19 safety protocols. While Sri Lanka lost the first two ODIs, they were saved by rain in the third ODI, where they sneaked some points home, in their quest to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

"Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed a five-member committee to investigate the three players who have been accused of violating the rules of the bubble during the tour of England,” SLC said in a statement, reported India Today.

"In addition to retired Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayake, Attorneys-at-Law Asela Rekawa, Uchitha Wickramasinghe, Panduka Keerthinanda and retired Major General M.K. R.W. Messrs. De Zoysa have been appointed.”

While it is unclear whether the players would be suspended for a long time, it is confirmed that they would not be available for the immediate limited-overs series against India at home, with reports suggesting that they have been dropped from the squad.

"A temporary ban has been imposed on the three until the investigation against them is completed," SLC said in a statement.