Sri Lanka pacer Lahiru Kumara has been dropped from the Test squad for the series against England after he was found to be in breach of the code of conduct for players.
Kumara is said to have broken the team curfew on Sunday, just two days before the start of the opening Test against England at Galle.
The pacer has now been replaced by Dushmantha Chameera in the Test squad. 21-year-old Kumara has played 12 Tests for Sri Lanka so far, picking up a total of 40 wickets.
He was Sri Lanka’s most impressive pacer in their recent tour of the West Indies where he finished as the second-highest wicket taker in the series behind Shannon Gabriel
The right-armed fast bowler had picked up 17 wickets in the three-Test series at an average just below 20.
Kumara has been his side’s best pacer in the tour of West Indies.
Kumara is not the first Sri Lanka player to run afoul of the team’s code of conduct for players in recent times.
During the series against South Africa, batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was found to have breached the team curfew during the Colombo Test. He was subsequently suspended for the limited-overs clashes against the Proteas.
In the tour of the West Indies, Jeffrey Vandersay was found guilty of the same offence and he was subsequently sent home ahead of the start of the third Test at Barbados.
The first of three scheduled Tests between hosts Sri Lanka and England gets underway at the picturesque Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.