Dubai: Sri Lanka’s inglorious exit from the T20 cricket World Cup in Australia was accompanied by players partying at casinos, corruption and the influence of a fake prophet, an inquiry showed Thursday. Batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested hours after Sri Lanka’s tournament prematurely ended and has been charged with four counts of sexual assault on a woman in Sydney. An independent panel which investigated Sri Lanka’s off-field behaviour during the World Cup in October-November revealed a litany of wrongdoing among players, officials and associates.

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 team-mates when he objected to a fellow punter taking his picture, the panel’s 63-page report said.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 13 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.