Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne fined by SLC for drunk driving

In the most recent development, Sri Lanka all-rounder Dimuth Karunaratne has been fined 7000 USD for violating his player contract, which suggests not to drink and drive. The batsman was reportedly drunk when he crashed into a three-wheeler in Colombo, following which his driving license was suspended and he was also arrested but bailed soon later. The driver of the three-wheeler sustained minor injuries, but has been discharged from the hospital and doing well now.

Karunaratne later apologised on his official Twitter handle. He apologised to the driver of the vehicle and took responsibility for the accident. Apart from the fine, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will take no further action against him. “Sri Lanka Cricket decided to impose a fine of 7,000 USD on Dimuth Karunaratne after the player was found to have violated the ‘Player Contractual Obligation’ entered into with SLC,” the board said in a statement.

“However, considering Karunaratne’s earlier track record, where he has maintained a very high professional standard as a player, SLC will not take further action against him,” the statement further added.

SLC secretary unhappy with Karunaratne

However, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva was agitated with the act and said that it cannot be tolerated weeks before the batsman is all set to represent his country in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“When you’re preparing for an important competition like the World Cup, and we’re spending so much money on this upcoming domestic tournament, we just cannot tolerate this kind of nonsense,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo.

Karunaratne led the side when they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa last month. He will next be captaining Kandy in the upcoming Super Provincial Tournament. The 30-year-old has played 17 ODIs, from which he has 190 runs at an average of 15.

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