ICC set to ban Kusal Parera for 4 years after positive B sample: Kusal Perera, the swashbuckling Sri Lanka batsman is facing the prospect of a four-year ban after his B sample also tested positive for a banned drug.
His earlier sample in a random test also tested positive and hence discarded from Sri Lanka’s side in their tour of New Zealand as ICC imposed a provisional ban on the 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
The southpaw’s sample was tested in Qatar and ICC informed the officials in Sri Lanka about the results. “The ICC has informed that his B sample also has been tested positive for a banned drug,” Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said. “We are appealing against this because he was never found like this in the last four instances.”
Sports Minister had earlier claimed the allegation and failed test could be part of a conspiracy against Kusal Perera to keep him out of the World T20 2016.
This is the second instance in Sri Lankan cricket when their players has failed the dope test. Left-handed opener Upul Tharanga was suspended for three months after testing positive for a banned substance during the 2011 World Cup. However Tharanga insisted that it was “Herbal remedy”, which he took for his shoulder but still the ban was not lifted.
ICC have not commented on the matter of Perera yet considering it is an ongoing disciplinary process. Although no official penalty has been announced yet, the southpaw can be suspended for a maximum of four years for the failed tests.