Cricket Australia Bans Duleep Samaraweera for 20 Years

Cricket Australia has banned former Sri Lankan cricketer Duleep Samaraweera for 20 years. For the next two decades, Samaraweera will not be allowed to work with any cricket team in Australia, including the Big Bash League, due to misconduct.

The 52-year-old Sri Lankan star was recently appointed as the head coach of the Victoria women's team. However, prior to that, Cricket Australia (CA) found evidence that he had violated multiple codes of conduct while serving as a coach in Victoria's state cricket setup.

Samaraweera was also an assistant coach for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. Additionally, there were allegations that he pressured authorities to hire someone under his supervision in the Victoria team. Furthermore, he faced serious misconduct accusations, including one filed by a female player from the Victoria women's team, who lodged a complaint with CA.

After receiving specific complaints against him, CA's Conduct Commission launched an investigation and concluded that there was sufficient evidence to impose the 20-year ban. CA has labeled Samaraweera’s conduct as "reprehensible."

Commenting on the matter, Cricket Victoria's CEO, Nick Cummins, said, "We fully support the decision of Cricket Australia's Conduct Committee following their investigation. We believe Samaraweera's behavior was disgraceful and a betrayal of Cricket Victoria's code of conduct. We sympathize with the individual affected by his actions. She showed immense courage in standing up to Samaraweera's poor behavior. From an institutional perspective, Cricket Victoria is committed to ensuring the safety of all its employees. We will never tolerate such behavior from anyone."