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REUTERS: For someone who has spent six agonising months on the sidelines battling doping allegations, Sri Lankan Kusal Perera cannot think of a better place for his return than the hallowed turf of Lord's in the third and final test against England on Thursday.
The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was sent home from the tour of New Zealand in December after it was announced he had failed a drugs test last July.
He was cleared last month when the International Cricket Council (ICC) dropped all charges against him after the Qatar-based laboratory that conducted the test withdrew its initial findings. Perera was not allowed to train with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) coaches and was called up in England only after a shoulder injury had ended paceman Dhammika Prasad's tour.
"I haven't been told if I'm playing yet but I was thrown into trouble and to come back from that at Lord's would be a great opportunity," Kusal told reporters at Lord's after practice on Tuesday. "I was banned just before a test, so to return in this format would be fitting. Even the time I was out of the team I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. But these things can happen in life."
Perera, who has played three tests and 51 one-dayers, admitted he arrived in England undercooked, having barely trained before a series he did not expect to be involved in. "I didn't have any time to think about whether I was in touch, or whether I could train, or even what was happening in cricket.
"I started training the day after I was cleared. Before then I didn't do much batting – just some fitness work."
Perera, however, felt he was fresh and striking the ball well, which might help his team salvage some pride after batting collapses in Leeds and Chester-le-Street helped the hosts open an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
ESPNcricinfo: Allrounder Farveez Maharoof, who last played an international game in March 2012, has been recalled to the Sri Lanka side for the upcoming ODI matches against Ireland and England.
Maharoof and four other players – allrounder Danushka Gunathilaka, legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, offspinner Suraj Randiv and batsman Upul Tharanga - will fly to the UK to join the current Sri Lankan squad on tour. Some Test specialists are expected to return to Sri Lanka but the selectors have not yet specified which players. Sri Lanka are set to play Ireland on June 16 and 18, before the five-match series against England starts from June 21.
Sri Lanka will be without spinner Rangana Herath and fast bowlers Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera. While Herath announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket in April, both Prasad and Chameera were ruled out of the tour due to injuries. Prasad suffered a shoulder injury in the lead-up to the first Test against England at Headingley, and Chameera returned home after playing only one Test due to a stress fracture on his lower back.
