The former Sri Lankan cricketer Dulip Samaraweera has been in the headlines, although for all the unwanted reasons in recent times. He represented Sri Lanka in a total of 12 matches (7 Tests and 5 ODIs), making his international debut on 3rd November 1993 in an ODI against the West Indies, and played his last game at the international level for Sri Lanka on 18th March 1995, in a Test match against New Zealand.
After bidding adieu from international cricket, he took up coaching. His journey with Victoria began in the year 2008, he initially joined the setup as a specialist batting coach, before being named the interim head coach in November 2023. He was appointed as the head coach of the Victorian women’s team on 8th May, earlier this year, replacing Jarrad Loughman in the role.
With just two weeks into the role, he resigned after his request to appoint his brother as an assistant coach was denied due to state policies. Months later, in an initial investigation it was found that Dulip had breached the 2.23 clause of Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct, which eventually led to his 20-year ban. He was accused of coercive and controlling behavior for a significant period of time towards a female athlete, which resulted in a strict response from the Australian board in the form of a ban.
In an ongoing investigation led by Cricket Australia’s Integrity Department, another allegation has emerged, regarding an incident during his private coaching sessions, which he was running during his official commitment with Cricket Victoria.
“Cricket Australia Conduct Commission has made a determination in relation to a further allegation of inappropriate behavior against Dulip Samaraweera. He denied the allegations but chose not to participate in the investigation and subsequent Conduct Commission hearing,” read the statement released by Cricket Australia’s investigation committee without revealing too many details, confirming another allegation of behavioral misconduct.
As a consequence of the allegations, Cricket Australia has imposed another 10-year ban that will run simultaneously with his current 20-year suspension. It is also understood that neither complainant has so far opted to pursue criminal charges.
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