Sri Lanka Cricket hands Chamika Karunaratne hefty fine and one-year suspended ban for player contract violations

Chamika Karunaratne has become the latest Sri Lankan cricketer to hog the spotlight for off-field reasons after the 26-year-old was handed a one-year suspended ban from all forms of cricket and a fine of USD 5,000 by Sri Lanka Cricket on Wednesday. The authorities put down the punishment to breaches of several clauses in the bowling all-rounder's player contract albeit they did not mention the specifics of the violations.

Karunaratne made his white-ball debut in both formats last year and has since become an integral part of the nation's cricketing setup, featuring in 18 ODIs and 38 T20Is already. The cricketer from Colombo was a part of all seven Sri Lankan lineups in the recently concluded World T20, scalping three wickets and tallying 32 runs. It is imperative for Karunaratne to ensure there are no further breaches in the coming months given the ICC World Cup 2023 in India is less than a year away. 

"Considering the seriousness of the violations committed by Mr. Karunaratne, the Inquiry Panel by its report has recommended to the Executive Committee of the SLC to strongly warn the player to refrain from further violations and to impose a punishment that will not have an impact on his cricketing career," SLC said in a  statement.

"Subsequent to the said findings and recommendations of the inquiry panel the Executive Committee of SLC has handed a one-year ban from taking part in all forms of Cricket, and the said ban will be suspended for a period of one year," they added.