Multiple Sri Lankan news reports have reported this on Friday that Niroshan Dickwella, wicketkeeper-batter of Sri Lanka will be suspended from playing cricket in all formats because of a doping scandal during the Lanka Premier League 2024 held last month. It is alleged that he failed an anti-drug test in the local T20 tournament.
According to a report by newswire.lk citing sources within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), it appears that he may face an indefinite ban as investigations are still ongoing. This is expected to be followed shortly by an official announcement from the board.
Dickwella captained Galle Marvels for the entire tournament. He batted first and managed only 184 runs in ten matches at a strike rate of 153.33 due largely to his over-the-top aggressive style which had him giving good opening partnerships to his team during powerplays.
Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella Faces An Indefinite Suspension Over Doping Violations
The Jaffna Kings comprehensively defeated his side in the tournament finals. Dickwella could only manage to score five runs off the eight balls he faced during that match.
There have been two major controversies in the career of this 31-year-old player. In 2021, he was banned from playing for a year along with Danushka Gunathilaka as well as Kusal Mendis because they had broken bio-bubble rules while staying in England.
Since then, he has not been part of any national team playing cricket for a long time, with his last Test match being played at the beginning of 2023 and his last white ball game occurring in 2022.
After a poor display with the bat in LPL 2024, Dickwella could not make it to the Sri Lankan white-ball sides for the recently concluded home series against India. In recent years, Sri Lanka has had plenty of wicketkeeping options in their sides which has not assisted Dickwella’s case.
Now, this suspension comes as a huge loss for the left-handed batsman as he endeavours to retrieve back his sinking international career.
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