'Utterly unbecoming of a Sri Lankan national cricketer' - Karunaratne on drink driving incident

Dimuth Karunaratne has described his own behaviour as "utterly unbecoming of a Sri Lankan national cricketer" on the day he had his driving licence suspended for suspected drink driving.

Having been involved an accident in the Borella neighbourhood of Colombo early on Sunday morning, Karunaratne was arrested and subsequently bailed, while a driver of a three-wheeler was admitted to hospital with minor injuries.

The injured driver has since been discharged, but Karunaratne has assured officials and fans that he will fulfil his "moral obligation" to the injured person in an apology made on his facebook page, on Monday. Hours earlier, he had had his driving licence suspended at the Fort Magistrate in Colombo.

His apology, in full:

Dear Friends / Fellow SL Team members / Cricket Fans World Over / All those at Sri Lanka Cricket and each and every Sri Lankan:

You may be aware of some disturbing news which occurred last morning! The vehicle I was driving back home unfortunately met with a minor accident in Colombo.

I firstly need to apologize to the owner of the other vehicle who had a few very minor injuries and was absolutely decent in his manner to very amicably sort out the matter directly with me.

As I type i am very pleased to note and would like to inform all of you that he has been discharged from hospital where he was under precautionary observation and is now resting at home.

Rest assured that my moral obligation towards his betterment and well been will be well looked after and that's guaranteed.

This morning I produced my self in court and did follow the due Legal process of Sri Lanka and did abide by all formalities therein required . I shall continue to assist / follow with what ever Legal obligations are necessary from my end.

I am very much aware that perhaps my actions were utterly unbecoming of a Sri Lankan National Cricketer and I do apologize to all of you for this incident.

Thank you for your understanding on this matter during this tough time I am currently going through.

Sincerely Yours
Dimuth Karunaratne

Beyond whatever legal consequences Karunaratne faces, Sri Lanka Cricket may also impose their own punishments, perhaps after the legal process has concluded.

Karunaratne had not only led Sri Lanka to their historic Test series win against South Africa in February, he was also being talked about by the national selectors as a prospective World Cup captain. Whether the fallout from this incident will do his World Cup chances ill remains to be seen.