Danushka Gunathilaka returns from ban for Australia tour

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Danushka Gunathilaka will return to international cricket after a ban for breaching Covid rules with his inclusion for next month’s Twenty20 tour of Australia, selectors announced in an AFP report.

The all-rounder and two others were sanctioned after they admitted breaching a bio-secure bubble in Durham during a tour of England last June.

Gunathilaka, 30, had his ban lifted following an appeal and the payment of a $50,000 fine, and is among the 20-man squad named for Australia under Dasun Shanaka.

The first two T20 matches will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Feb. 11 and 13, followed by one match in Canberra and two in Melbourne.

Sri Lanka squad:

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Chamika Karunaratne, Janith Liyanage, Kamil Mishara, Ramesh Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Shiran Fernando.