Sri Lanka’s sports minister has hinted at a conspiracy to keep the wicket-keeper-batsman Kusal Perera out of the cricketing field after the player failed the drug test during the ongoing series against New Zealand.
“We are doing all we can to defend him,” the minister said. “We are wondering if this allegation is a conspiracy to keep him out of next year’s T20 World Cup.”
Dayasiri Jayasekera, sports minister told the Parliament will be sending a “B” for testing after the International Cricket Council announced last week that Perera tested positive for a banned steroid during a random check.
The Sri Lankan President spoke to Perera regarding this issue while he was sent back home ahead of the New Zealand tour consisting of two Tests, five ODI games and two T20 matches.
Sri Lanka would be hoping that Perera is permitted to play as they will be defending their World T20 title next year in March and April 2016 in India. Perera is a crucial part of the T20 side and can whack the ball effortlessly.
Sri Lanka has had a past with this doping test. Upul Tharanga was the one to start this new-found trend after he was tested positive in the drug test, conducted during the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Tharanga blamed an “herbal remedy” that he had taken to recover from a long-standing shoulder injury for failing the doping test.