Sri Lanka cricketer Dhanushka Gunatileke has spoken out for the first time on the incident on the alleged violation of quarantine regulations during the England tour earlier this year.
The incident led to the suspension of Gunatilake, along with Sri Lanka cricketers Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella for a year from International cricket, while they were also imposed a fine.
Speaking to Sri Lanka Cricket legend Lasith Malinga, cricketer Dhanushka Gunatileke revealed what actually had taken place in Durham, England.
“Many people thought we had breached quarantine regulations and had stepped out of the hotel in violation of the rules. Both teams were allowed to step outdoors. The teams did not have any such restrictions to stay within the hotel. We were informed that we can move in the vicinity of 1 km from the hotel. We were even allowed to order food from outside and go and collect it as takeaways,” he revealed.
Gunatilake further said some unknown person had taken the video of the trio without knowing the regulations which were informed to the cricketers by the Team Manager and doctor as well.
“Many thought we had gone clubbing or partying and were roaming the streets. But that is not true. All clubs and all places were closed by 11 pm in England at the time. Only recently they reopened all activities in the country,” he said.
The cricketer said the trio had actually stepped outdoors because they were hungry and wanted to eat some food.
“We stepped out between 10.45 -11.00 pm. Almost all restaurants were closed and we found only one Kebab spot. However, that was a bit further away from the 1km radius we were permitted to explore. This is the mistake we made. We did not think or know that this would be considered a breach and would end up in such a big situation. We did not go partying. We went to buy food as we were hungry, we apologize for what happened” he explained. (NewsWire)
From 13.00 onwards