Lokuarachchi handed suspended sentence

Kaushal Lokuarachchi, the Sri Lankan legspinner, has been handed a suspended jail sentence for driving carelessly and killing a woman pedestrian in 2003, AFP reported.

Judge MNA Gaffoor also ordered the cricketer to pay a fine of 500,000 rupees (US$ 4,716) that would go to two charities. He said Lokuarachchi would not have to serve time as he was "suspending" the sentence for five years.

Lokuarachchi, 25, who played four Tests and 21 ODIs between 2003 and 2007, pleaded guilty to killing the pedestrian and injuring her son in a late-night car crash in August 2003. If the offence is repeated within the next five years, the player will be jailed for the four-year term.

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka had banned Lokuarachchi for four months in 2003.