Jayasuriya says two-year ICC suspension over

By Bipin Dani

Former national cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya on Tuesday said he had completed the two-year suspension imposed on him by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Jayasuriya was charged by the ICC in February 2019 with failing to cooperate with an investigation into corruption and concealing, tampering with or destroying evidence that could be used in an investigation.

Jayasuriya accepted the charges and a two-year period of ineligibility 

"I am happy to announce that, the ICC ACU, has informed me that the terms of my agreed sanction have been met and my period of ineligibility has concluded. I am now, therefore, re-eligible to participate or be otherwise involved in the game of cricket," Jayasuriya said in a statement released on his Facebook page

"I reiterate the fact that I have always maintained a high degree of integrity throughout my cricketing career. I have always put country first and the cricket loving public are the best witness to this aspect."

Even though the suspension was announced in February 2019 it was handed out retrospectively from October 13, 2018 and came as a result of an ICC investigation into corruption in cricket in Sri Lanka. 

Jayasuriya, speaking to the Daily Mirror said, "I have no immediate plan to engage in cricket activities. Let us see how it (the opportunity) unfolds. I am not likely to be involved in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) at this stage."

"The first year of my suspension was rather more painful and the second year has almost gone in the Covid-19," he said.