Sri Lanka News – T20 World Cup | Media Pyro

It is not yet clear whether Gunathilaka breached SLC’s own protocol by going on a date during the active tour, something board chief executive Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricininfo is prohibited. Six days after the allegation, SLC says it still doesn’t know if Gunathilaka broke the curfew on Wednesday, November 2, the night the allegations relate to.

SLC has no contractual obligation to assist Gunathilaka’s defence, and is only doing so. However, De Silva argues, the legal fees will eventually come back, either by asking Gunathilaka to pay the board or by paying off the board’s debt.

“This is not a special tour,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “He was with the team in an official capacity, so we felt that the legal fees had to be paid, and that we could bring him back later, regardless of the outcome of the case .

“His parents may not be able to do that [cover the legal costs]”De Silva added. Gunathilaka has been a regular in Sri Lanka’s junior teams since mid-2017, playing 47 ODIs and 46 T20Is, in addition to Tests that eight. He has played in at least three T20 matches. regional support activities.

De Silva compared SLC’s support for Kusal Perera in the first six months of 2016, to their support for Gunathilaka now. “Just like we recovered the money in that case, after the acquittal of Kusal Perera, we will do the same here.”

Perera’s case, however, is not unusual, and there is no previous example of the SLC offering official support to a player facing criminal charges.

When asked if the SLC itself is damaging its reputation by supporting a player facing such serious allegations, de Silva said the board should give its support “to someone who has fallen into such a situation “.

Even if Gunathilaka broke the team’s travel protocol – something that deserves internal criticism – de Silva is not sure yet. The SLC has appointed a three-member investigation to carry out an “independent inquiry”, and de Silva said the team’s director is liaising with the ICC’s security staff to find out if Gunathilaka violated the last night.

SLC also denied the online allegation that politicians ordered the board to bear Gunathilaka’s legal fees. This was done by the board in a statement issued on Tuesday, which said “Sri Lanka Cricket has never been influenced by any ‘third party’ to carry out the necessary steps to enable Mr. Danushka Gunathilaka following a law. authority available to him”.

Later in the same release, SLC said it had “discussed with the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and consular officials” to take part in pursuing the legal rights of Gunathilaka.

Gunathilaka was arrested on November morning by Sydney police and charged with four counts of sleeping without consent and has since been denied bail. According to de Silva, apart from the five-minute period during the arrest when Gunathilaka spoke to the manager of the team, the staff of the SLC did not have direct contact with the player.