Dubai, April 4: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has provisionally supsended former Sri Lankan cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige, who was charged with fixing and failure to disclose corrupt approaches in an ongoing probe.
Lokuhettige, a medium pacer who played nine ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals for Sri Lanka, has been charged with three counts of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code and given 14 days to respond.
These new allegations are in addition to similar charges brought against him on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board last year during his stint with a T10 league in the UAE.
"That provisional suspension remains in full force and effect and he has additionally been provisionally suspended under the ICC Code pending the determination of these new charges," the ICC said in a statement, which was shared on their Twitter handle.
Lokuhettige charged under ICC Anti-Corruption Code https://t.co/D7qE4DeWNo via @ICC
— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) April 4, 2019
Lokuhettige's suspension continued ICC's anti-corruption drive in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in which has even embroiled 1996 World Cup-winning batting legend Sanath Jayasuriya, who was banned for two years after admitting to destruction of evidence during the ongoing investigations.
"The ICC will not make any further comment in respect of these charges at this stage," the world body said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has been slapped with a fine of $7,000 after his involvement in drunken-driving incident.
The 30-year-old has apologised for his "unbecoming" actions after he was detained for crashing into a three-wheel taxi on March 31, leaving its driver injured.
"The SLC decided to impose a fine of $7,000 on Dimuth Karunaratne, after the player was found to have violated the 'Player Contractual Obligation,'" said an SLC statement.
However, the board will take no further action as he had maintained a "very high professional standard as a player".
A magistrate has suspended Karunaratne's driving licence and fixed a trial for May 2.
The incident came as a huge blow to Sri Lanka, who are set to name their captain for the ICC Cricket World Cup starting in England on May 30.
Karunaratne, who led Sri Lanka to a stunning Test series victory against South Africa recently, had emerged as the front-runner for the top job.
(With inputs from Agencies)