Rambukwella fined for flight incident

Sri Lanka A cricketer Ramith Rambukwella will be fined 50% of his tour fee after he caused mild panic on a flight by attempting to open the cabin door at 35,000 feet. Sri Lanka Cricket's executive committee has also asked the board chief to serve Rambukwella with a severe warning for his behaviour, an official release said.

The incident had occurred on a flight from St. Lucia to Gatwick airport in London, as the team returned from the tour of the West Indies. Eyewitnesses quoted by the Daily Mail had said Rambukwella appeared to be intoxicated, and wrestled with the cabin door for up to two minutes. Rambukwella, the son of Sri Lanka's mass media minister, said he had mistaken the cabin door for the lavatory, and suggested he had been half-asleep, which is what prompted the error.

After the incident was reported in the media, an initial report was submitted by the A team manager Jayantha Seneviratne, before an inquiry was launched by SLC's anti-corruption officer, though the incident is unrelated to his usual purview. Bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake is said to have been the primary witness, after several of Rambukwella's team-mates were unwilling to testify.