Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has been slapped with a fine of USD 7500 following his drink-driving incident.
Karanuratne had been arrested and subsequently released on bail on Sunday after he was involved in an accident with a three-wheeler in Colombo which resulted in the driver of the three-wheeler being admitted to the hospital for minor injuries.
Following the episode, the Sri Lanka skipper had taken to Facebook to offer an apology. Now, the 30-year-old has been slapped with a fine equivalent to his match fee for one Test match by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for violating his player contract.
“When you’re preparing for an important competition like the World Cup, and we’re spending so much money on this upcoming (Super Provincial One-Day Cup) domestic tournament, we just cannot tolerate this kind of nonsense,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
— Dimuth Karunaratne (@IamDimuth) April 1, 2019
“We just want to send a strong message to everyone that we mean business,” he added.
The left-handed opening batsman had only recently led Sri Lanka to a historic 2-0 clean sweep of the Test series in South Africa. It was the first time an Asian side had managed to beat the Proteas in a Test series in their own backyard.
Karunaratne is also reportedly one of the contenders to lead Sri Lanka in the upcoming ODI World Cup in England. He will have a chance to stake his claim when he leads Kandy in the upcoming Super Provincial One-Day Cup which begins on Friday.
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