Aravinda de Silva Urges SLC To Give ‘Suitable Punishment’ To Mendis, Dickwella & Gunathilaka

Sri Lankan legend Aravinda de Silva has urged Sri Lankan Cricket Board to come down hard on the suspended trio of cricketers, Niroshan Dickwella, Kushal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka who were found guilty of breaching the bio-bubble in England last month.

All the three players were sent back home after their video went viral, in which they were seen smoking on the streets of Durham. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) has since appointed a five-member committee to investigate the incident after temporarily banning the three players.

Speaking on a television talk show, as quoted by dailynews.lk, De Silva asserted that the players should have understood the responsibility of representing their country and remained inside the bio-bubble.

“They should have realised their misbehaviour and especially what was the fault they have done off the field. They should realise their responsibility and represent the country. When a bio-bubble is created they have to live according to the rules and regulations.

The 1996 World Cup winner also pointed out the poor track record of Mendis, Dickwella and Gunathilaka in terms of discipline. De Silva also asserted that these three players should be taught a lesson this time.

“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,” De Silva was quoted as saying by dailynews.lk.

Sri Lanka failed to win a single match on the England tour, losing all three T20Is and 2 ODIs while the final game in Bristol got washed out.

The three players in question are likely to get a minimum one-year suspension if found guilty. They have also been dropped from the upcoming limited-overs series at home against India starting July 18.