Chamika’s World Cup show
It was two different versions of Chamika Karunaratne at the Asia Cup that preceded the World Cup
Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) recently-concluded inquiry into the alleged misconduct of all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne during the World T20 tournament has been exposed as a farce, as significantly more damning claims than it found have surfaced in a leaked report of Chief Selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe.
A three-member committee appointed by SLC fined Karunaratne US$ 5,000 and handed out a suspended one-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to lighting an oil lamp to Lord Ganesh (not to Lord Buddha, as widely reported) and leaving incense sticks unattended, causing a great threat of fire at the hotel premises and endangering the safety of the entire team. He was then “involved in an exchange of words with an outsider at a casino in Brisbane thereby causing disrepute to Sri Lanka Cricket”.
The committee’s report was based on the statements given by Team Manager Mahinda Halangoda and Captain Dasun Shanaka. But Wickremasinghe’s subsequent charges that Karunaratne had been more focused on his ‘extra-curricular activities’ than giving his best to the team during his month long stay in Australia are now too damaging to ignore.
SLC admitted that some serious allegations have been made in the Chief Selector’s report to the Board and that it would compel them to start a fresh probe.
“The ExCo will take a call soon,” said SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, refusing further comment. Unhappy with Karunaratne’s exclusion from the ODI squad for the Afghanistan series and the reasons earlier given, Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe had called for a report from SLC.
Although Karunaratne is yet to establish himself as an all-rounder of stature, he managed to draw in public support through various social media campaigns that claimed he was dropped from the side for “lighting an oil lamp to Buddha”. But Wickremasinghe’s report has now thrown light on more serious issues.
The Sports Ministry has appointed a six-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena to investigate the alleged misconduct of Sri Lankan players during the World T20 Tournament.
Sri Lanka made a first round exit, having won just two of the five matches in the Super 12 leg, but grabbed global headlines when Danushka Gunathilaka was arrested hours before the team left Australia. He faces legal charges over allegedly having sexual intercourse without consent with a woman he met through the dating app Tinder during the World Cup. He was remanded for eight days before receiving heavily conditional bail. Gunathilaka remains suspended from all forms of cricket. But while SLC promised a prompt investigation, there has been no movement as the matter is before court.
A copy of Wickramasighe’s report seen by the Sunday Times maintains that Karunaratne’s poor form was owing to his interest “in his distractive personal matters other than Cricket”. This was cited as the main reason for dropping him from the team. The decision was endorsed by Head Coach Chris Silverwood and the Board.
“The outcome of the meeting on Chamika’s selection was to leave him out from this tour as the National Coach has lost trust in him as Chamika has been exposed in not being truthful to the coach on multiple occasions. It was the opinion of the Coach that Chamika was not focused on his game,” the report reads.
Alarmingly, it claims he was “…more focused on meeting ladies of Sri Lankan origin who were domiciled in Australia. Further, I would like to place on record that he has missed some training sessions on tour mentioning that he was feeling unwell. However, I have reason to believe that he had accommodated female companions at the hotel. (I would propose that a request is made to the hotel to provide CCTV footage on the said dates he did not attend training sessions)”.
Among Karunaratne’s antics, as exposed by Wickremasinghe, is the alleged harassment of a married woman in Australia–a serious charge that the Chief Selector says should be investigated.
“I was also told by the Team Manager that during our stay in Sydney, a Sri Lankan gentleman had called and wanted to meet with Chamika, mentioning that he had a problem to solve with Chamika. Thereafter, the Manager refused to accommodate his request unless there was a meaningful reason to meet him, at that point the gentleman had mentioned that Chamika had been calling his wife and bothering her with indecent proposals and being a nuisance. Contacting this gentleman via the Team Manager, you may be able to find out more depth about the activities of Chamika, which he had mentioned that he had evidence of some grave malpractices involving Chamika,” the report, which has been forwarded to the Sports Minister, reads.
While recommending Karunaratne for psychological counselling before being drafted back to the national team, Wickremasinghe insists that SLC should maintain strict disciplinary measures to stop such player conduct that brings disrepute to the game and the country.
Karunaratne, 26, had only played one Test before Wickremasinghe led committee offered him an extended run in white-ball cricket. During this period he has represented Sri Lanka in 18 ODIs and 38 T20Is, which includes two T20 World Cups.
Wickremasinghe when contacted confirmed sending the report on the instruction of the SLC but regrets it getting into the public domain.
“He is a talented cricketer. I told the Minister and the Chairman of the National Sports Council (NSC) not to take this matter further as it will destroy the career of the player. But when it was requested, we as selectors had to defend ourselves as everyone started blasting us without knowing the truth,” he said.