SLC investigating abuse allegations

Sri Lanka Cricket will launch an "initial investigation" into allegations that members of Sri Lanka's women team were compelled to perform sexual favours in order to earn or keep their place in the national side. The allegations had appeared in Sinhala publication Divaina last week, and though no official inquiry has been launched, the allegations were strong enough to warrant a probe, SLC vice-president Mohan de Silva has said.

"There was no executive committee decision taken to hold an inquiry except to hold an initial investigation to determine if there is any merit in the allegations reported in the media," de Silva said. "That's why we decided to call the coach, the manager and the captain to find out."

If the investigation yields further claims that cricketers are under pressure to perform sexual favours, SLC will launch an official inquiry through its disciplinary committee. De Silva also said that, to date, SLC had not received any complaints relating to sexual misconduct, from its women's team players, nor had any evidence arisen to support these allegations.

Team captain Chamari Atapattu, coach Jeevantha Kulatunga and manager Roshan Iddamalgoda will be interviewed over the next few days.