Kiriella bats for Mendis, Gunathilaka and Dickwella

NewsWire: Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Lakshman Kiriella has requested Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to consider recalling the three banned Sri Lankan senior cricketers to the national side, as the top order of the current national side that participated in the T20 World Cup tournament lacked experience.

MP Kiriella made the request in this regard while addressing the Parliament today.

Responding to the MP, Sports Minister Rajapaksa said the disciplinary aspect was the first matter to be taken into consideration with regard to the three cricketers.

Sri Lankan cricketers Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, and Danushka Gunathilaka were suspended from international and domestic cricket after they were found to have violated quarantine restrictions while on tour of England earlier this year.

“My issue is with regard to the three cricketers who have been banned from cricket. If you see the recent world cup tournament, our openers fared very badly. We hardly got a good start, I am sure the Sports Minister will agree to this. We were unable to get a good start to the game. Our openers were out within the first two overs. The suspended cricketers are good players. It would be great if you could consider these three banned cricketers, as we have to face another World Cup tournament in 2022. They have been ordered to pay a big fine as well” MP Kiriella said.

Responding to him, Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa pointed out that discipline is a priority in this matter.

“Discipline is number one. You realise what happened to your own political party due to not following the disciplinary properly. So, I don’t want that to happen to my national team. We have taken disciplinary action. The cricket administration has appointed a committee in this regard which has now issued a statement on the matter. 

“A decision has been made on the matter. Once the ban on domestic matches has been completed, the boys can take part in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). They can compete in international tournaments after one year,” Minister Rajapaksa explained.

“I must reiterate that discipline is key and we will not compromise on discipline whether you are a player or whether you are in management,” the Minister added.