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Sri Lanka’s failure to progress to the finals of the T20 World Cup has been overshadowed by media reports of the allegations relating to off-the-field behaviour of cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka

The courts in Australia will in due course determine whether he is guilty or not of the offence he is charged with. While the private indiscretion of the 31-year-old cricketer would not have been the concern of members of the public, what must trouble cricket fans is the implications of the episode for Sri Lanka’s cricket.  

Danushka-Gunathilaka-type situations are not new to international sports and challenges relating to off-field behaviour of celebrity sportsmen are continuously faced by sports administrators the world over.

When the phenomena of match-fixing emerged, sports administrators responded in several ways to guide and help players to avoid the pitfalls posed by unscrupulous predators.

When on tour representing the national side, sportsmen have multiple obligations. First and foremost they are required to ensure optimum performance on the field. They are required to conduct themselves as true ambassadors of their country and not bring disrepute to the nation they represent.

The argument that what they do in their private time (on tour) will not apply for two reasons. Firstly they are on national duty during which they are required to be at the service of the country they have the privilege of representing.

Secondly, if their private conduct impacts on their performance on the field and prevents them from giving of their best on the field such conduct must necessarily be frowned upon and discouraged.

The attempt to play down the Danushka Gunathilaka affair by former Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake with the argument ‘boys will be boys’ is not acceptable in the context of his being a member of the National Cricket. Even if one is inclined to agree with the former Minister in relation to an ordinary individual such an approach cannot be condoned in the case of a national cricketer who has the privilege of representing his country. He has to be considered as on State duty and his time is not his own to engage in conduct in contravention of his obligations to his team and the country.

The public response to the incident has been varied. Some have already presumed the cricketer guilty while others are critical of Sri Lanka Cricket’s decision to retain lawyers to look after Danushka’s interests. This criticism is misplaced because it is the duty of Sri Lanka Cricket to ensure that they look after every member of the national team and ensure that in this instance the interests of justice are served.

The need for educating and counselling the cricketers on how to respond to situations has been stressed by many sports fans. Many of the cricketers are new to the world of money and exploitation and lack of exposure to face challenging situations.

Some commentators have raised the question whether Danushka was the victim of a setup and fell victim to a network of prostitutes. Court proceedings and a full inquiry may unearth some material to shed light on what actually happened but the need to guide and help the cricketers cannot be denied.

An observation by a sports commentator makes the point clear: “Our players need to be educated on how professional athletes conduct themselves on social media. Some players social media post make me cringe.”

The responsibility to minimise the recurrence of similar incidents on tour lies fairly and squarely on Sri Lanka Cricket. A Code of Conduct for players (if there is none at present) must be drawn up and the players educated on the need to follow it.

Sri Lanka Cricket must set up a committee of former cricketers to study the issues connected with player discipline. They will be able to draw on the experience of these senior cricketers who themselves may have faced various difficult situations during their career and may be in a position to suggest and advice on how the players can be assisted.

How well Sri Lanka Cricket will be able to harness the experience of the cricketing experts will determine how our players perform on and off the field in the future. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)