Board launches investigation into players' conduct

A cricket board investigation has been launched into allegations of drunken misconduct by two Sri Lanka players - allegedly Avishka Gunawardene and Kaushal Lokuarachchi - during the ICC Champions Trophy last month.

The Island said that Sri Lanka Cricket had been prompted to take action after being "tipped off by well-informed sources" that the two players were involved in a late-night drinking binge mid-way through their rain-interrupted match against England.

Mohan de Silva, the cricket board president, confirmed to Wisden Cricinfo that a disciplinary probe was already underway: "Investigations have been started. We have instructed the disciplinary committee to look into these allegations and they are making preliminary enquiries now before the players return from Pakistan," he added.

The allegations had surfaced soon after Sri Lanka's early exit from the Champions Trophy but were not taken seriously at the outset after being flatly denied by Ajit Jayasekera, the team manager at the time, and coach John Dyson.

De Silva refused to confirm the identity of the two players and insisted that the decision to drop both Gunawardene and Lokuarachchi for Sri Lanka's second match in the Paktel Cup had not been triggered by the inquiry.

Lokuarachchi was last year banned for four months from all forms of cricket after his involvement in a tragic late-night driving accident. Legal proceedings are still continuing in the case.