Dasun Shanaka Faces Inquiry For Abandoning Club Game For ILT20 In Dubai

Sri Lanka Cricket will investigate allegations that Dasun Shanaka departed a first-class match in Colombo hours early to play for the Dubai Capitals in the UAE that evening, February 2.

The board's chargesheet against Dasun Shanaka includes allegations that first-class match referee Wendell Labrooy was misled into believing Shanaka suffered a concussion to sanction a substitute.

SLC CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNCricinfo that Shanaka's Sinhalese Sports Club was also launching its investigation. The match referee was led to believe that Shanaka had sustained a concussion during the game against Moor Sports Club.

"SLC and the club knew I had to leave”- Dasun Shanaka shares his side of the story

Dasun Shanaka, however, told ESPNcricinfo that de Silva and others were aware that he would have to leave the first-class match early. According to Shanaka, he departed the field shortly after being ejected on the third morning of the three-day competition.

He stated that he initially went to a nearby hospital to have a doctor examine a blow to his neck he got while playing a sweep shot that morning, and then flew to Dubai to play the T20 that evening, after being cleared by a separate physiotherapist.

"SLC and the club knew I had to leave. I only came back because there was a request from the SSC to play this first-class match. But my other team wanted me back, as I'd helped win two games for them earlier in the tournament,” Shanaka told ESPNcricinfo.

SLC adamant on enquiry

For SLC, however, leaving a league game early, especially for questionable reasons, is troublesome, even though it has yet to be determined whether there was any pretense involved.

The board's CEO, de Silva, explained that while Lasith Malinga notably played a Mumbai Indians match and then broke records in a home match in Pallekele the next day, Malinga played until both matches were completed.

Dasun Shanaka plays two matches in a single day

On the surface, Shanaka's performance appears to be a fantastic cricketing effort. He was one of three players brought back from the ILT20 by the SSC for their Major League Tournament match against Moors Sports Club, as the club sought to avoid relegation.

Shanaka bowled 21 overs and took one wicket in Moors' innings over the first two days of this three-dayer, finishing on 39 not out at the close of day two. Day three is when the absconding is believed to have occurred, however before he went, Shanaka scored 84 more runs, totaling 123 off 87 balls, with 88 of those runs coming in boundaries.

What is clear is that several hours later, he appeared for the Capitals in Dubai, and struck 34 off 12 at No. 5, helping his team to 217 against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.

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