Sri Lankan cricketer Niroshan Dickwella has been cleared by the ICC to resume playing in all formats of cricket following the lifting of his three-year ban for an alleged anti-doping violation. The wicketkeeper-batter, 31, had been suspended by the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA) in August 2024 after testing positive for a prohibited substance during a random anti-doping test.
Dickwella successfully appealed the ban, providing evidence that the detected substance was not used to enhance sports performance and was unrelated to the competition period. As a result, his suspension has been lifted with immediate effect, allowing him to rejoin the cricketing arena.
The last time Dickwella featured in international cricket was during Sri Lanka’s first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch in March 2023, where he scored just 7 runs before being dropped for the remainder of the series. He was later included in Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the March 2024 series against Bangladesh but did not play any matches.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka faces a challenging path in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). The team, currently at 45.45% in the standings, has two remaining home Tests against Australia. Even with victories in both matches, their percentage would rise to only 53.85%, leaving them dependent on favorable results from other teams. Australia would need to win their series against India 2-1 with two draws, and South Africa would have to lose both Tests against Pakistan for Sri Lanka to stay in contention for the WTC Final.
Sri Lanka’s head coach Sanath Jayasuriya recently addressed the team’s struggles following a 109-run defeat to South Africa in the second Test. He emphasized the need for batters to convert starts into significant scores, a shortfall that has hurt their chances in the WTC.
“Batsmen have to convert their scores into hundreds. Thirtys and fortys aren’t enough, especially on tough wickets like these. We needed at least two hundreds, but all we managed were a couple of 80s,” Jayasuriya remarked.
He acknowledged the efforts of senior players but noted that the team fell short of securing a spot in the WTC Final. “If the players assess themselves individually, they’ll see it wasn’t enough,” he added.
Jayasuriya also praised Kamindu Mendis as a key player, commending his confidence and contributions in most Test matches despite a less impactful performance in the current series. “You can’t expect a batter to hit 50 or 100 every innings, which is why we rely on six or seven batters to contribute,” he said.