Sri Lanka’s inglorious exit from the T20 World Cup in Australia was accompanied by players partying at casinos, corruption and the influence of a fake prophet, an inquiry showed yesterday.
Batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested hours after Sri Lanka’s tournament ended and has been charged with four counts of sexual assault in Sydney.
An independent panel that investigated Sri Lanka’s off-field behavior during the World Cup in October and November said that there was a litany of wrongdoing among players, officials and associates.
Photo: AP
Sri Lanka, the Asian champions, were stunned by Namibia in their opening match and failed to progress to the knockout rounds after finishing fourth in their Super 12 group.
Bowler Chamika Karunaratne was involved in a brawl at a casino along with six teammates when he objected to a fellow punter taking his picture, the panel’s 63-page report said.
Karunaratne was fined and given a suspended ban last year.
Photo: AFP
Team manager Mahinda Halangoda told investigators that the players went to a casino for dinner because “all restaurants in Australia close after 8[pm] or 8:30pm” and the gambling venue offered the only food available.
The five-member panel did not agree.
It recommended that casinos be off-limits for players on overseas tours and that wives be allowed in their hotel rooms — a practice permitted until 2016 — to ensure that they do not stray out and contravene team discipline.
A former high-performance manager, Jerome Jayaratne, had no role with the team, but was sent to Melbourne for 10 days and paid US$7,000, the report said.
Jayaratne is related by marriage to the Rajapaksa family who have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades, including the president ousted by mass protests last year.
Jayaratne contributed nothing to the team on the trip and spent time with his sister instead, the panel reported.
Former skipper Mahela Jayawardene traveled as a “consultant coach” at the cricket board’s expense, but opened a branch of his upmarket Ministry of Crab restaurant chain in Australia, the panel reported.
The investigators, led by retired Sri Lankan Supreme Court Justice Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena, called for a comprehensive audit of the Sri Lanka Cricket board and urged the sports minister to seize board documents to ensure evidence was not destroyed.
A man claiming to be a prophet had established considerable influence over some team members and key officials, the panel said, calling for a wider investigation.
Under the man’s influence, Karunaratne left an oil lamp burning in his room, despite hotel warnings of a fire hazard, it said.
There was no immediate comment from Sri Lanka Cricket, but Sri Lankan Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe said he would study the report and act on it to ensure team discipline and stamp out corruption.
The panel also called for better physical fitness among national players.
Sri Lanka yesterday were playing India in the second one-day international at Eden Gardens. At press time last night, India were on 128/4 chasing 216 to win.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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