Former Sri Lanka captain Aravinda de Silva has slammed Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, and Danushka Gunathilaka for violating the bio-secure protocols in England last month while calling for strict punishment for the trio for their mistakes.
Mendis, Dickwella, and Gunathilaka were dropped from Sri Lanka’s limited-overs series against England and India starting next month after they found breaching the bio-bubble in England.
In the viral video on social media, Mendis and Dickwella were seen smoking in the streets of Durham, where they were based ahead of the ODI series against England and later they were joined by Gunathilaka, their actions were in breach of the COVID-19 protocols of their stay in the UK.
While pointing out that the three accused players already have bad records, De Silva said if they were given a suitable punishment in the past, they would have not repeated this type of mistake, and he called for strict actions against them so that they will never repeat such mistakes.
De Silva told daily news.lk, “They should have realized their misbehavior and especially what was the fault they have done off the field. They should realize their responsibility and represent the country. When a bio-bubble is created they have to live according to the rules and regulations.”
He added, “These three players have had bad records earlier in their career. If we had given a suitable punishment at that time, they would have not repeated this type of mistake. If we cannot give them the suitable punishment, they will never learn a lesson from this incident.”
Noteworthy, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) formed a five-member committee to investigate the case with the trio likely to face a 12-month ban for their offense in England.
