Sri Lankan spinner Praveen Jayawickrama has received a one-year ban from all cricket from the International Cricket Council (ICC), with six months suspended. The 26-year-old faced charges under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in August.
The decision follows nearly two months of deliberation, and Jayawickrama admitted to violating Article 2.4.7 of the Code, which states:
“Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with, or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.”
A Sri Lanka bowler has been banned for a year under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.https://t.co/QpWA1r3hCN
— ICC (@ICC) October 2, 2024
Jayawickrama had 14 days from August 6 to respond to the charges against him, which stemmed from misconduct in international cricket and the Lanka Premier League. According to the code, he deleted messages from someone who tried to involve him in corrupt activities.
Praveen Jayawickrama has played 15 matches for Sri Lanka, taking 32 wickets across all formats. His last appearance for the national team was in a T20I against Australia in June 2022. His most recent competitive match was for Moors in the Major Clubs Limited Over Tournament in August.
Sri Lanka moved up to third place in the WTC standings after a clean sweep against New Zealand
Sri Lanka took full advantage of home conditions in their two-match Test series against New Zealand last month, with Dhananjaya de Silva’s team dominating to achieve a 2-0 sweep. They won the first match by 63 runs and concluded the series with a significant victory by an innings and 154 runs.
Kamindu Mendis was the series’ top scorer with 309 runs, while Prabath Jayasuriya was the standout bowler with 18 wickets. Following this series win, Sri Lanka is now third in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, having won five out of nine matches for a win percentage of 55.56.
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